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“THE FARMER* 


1M1 



^MWesma 1 ^ J 4 







































































































W 



THE 


UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTOR 


AND 


GENERAL ENCYCLOPEDIA: 


OR 


Practical Physician, Housekeeper, Farmer, 


AND MECHANICS’ AND BUSINESS MEN’S ASSISTANT, 


COMPRISING 


Essays and Recipes on all Practical Subjects, 


"WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. 




Member of the New York Eclectic Medical Society: Member of the Alumni Association of 
the Eclectic Medical College of the City of New York ; Late Physician and 
Surgeon for Diseases of Women and Children in the New York Eclectic 
Medical Dispensary; Late Resident Surgeon and Physician in 
the New York Cancer Hospital established by the 
State of New York for the treatment of 
Cancers and Tumors. 







DETROIT, MICHIGAN: 


PTTBXilSHED 33 THE AUTHOR. 

1884. 




/ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in th© year 1684, 

By W. R. MERWIN, M. D., 

In th© office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 


p 


PRINTED AND BOUND BY 
THORNDIKE NOURSE, DETROIT, MICH. 


electrotypeo by 

RAND A 80N, DETROIT, MICH. 








PREFACE. 


/jfoHIS work is presented to the public as meeting a practical want in the 
^ various relations of life. In the modern world, a knowledge of let¬ 
ters—the ability to read and understand the meaning of written and printed 
words and characters—is the rule rather than the exception with the people. 
The prevalence of this degree of knowledge implies that it should be put to 
the best use; and while it is made useful in imparting instruction in history, 
in ethics, and upon current events, it should be made more directly to benefit 
the whole people by affording them a means of becoming readily informed 
upon topics inseparably connected with their daily life, habits, comfort 
and happiness. And this is the design and purpose of the present work. 

The world has been flooded with books on theology, history, literature, 
politics, and the thousand and one hobbies that afflict mankind, to say 
nothing of an infinity of professional text books on law, medicine, etc. 
But it is only within the past few years that the press has been brought into 
requisition as the instructor of the people on the more practical affairs of 
life. Many works addressed to the popular understanding on practical 
topics have latterly made their appearance, and the unconsidered opinion 
may be that there are already enough of them. But compared with the 
number of books extant on other subjects, the list of popular practical works 
is not as one to a hundred. The ready market that the few works of this 
character have found shows that they have ministered to a general want;, 
and the very fact that some of them of but slight value have enjoyed a large 
sale, proves the extent of the demand, and that an inferior article will be 
accepted because the better is not in supply. 

Without seeking to disparage other works, it is enough to say that 
Merwin’s Universal Instructor has been written and compiled with 
especial reference to its practical value, and it is believed that no one book 



IV 


PREFACE. 


ever published has contained as large an amount of general information 
and instruction adapted to all classes of people. It contains over 10,000 
valuable recipes and useful facts adapted to the wants of every house¬ 
hold in the land. The author has given his undivided personal attention 
to its preparation, aided by a corps of competent assistants, and in placing 
the work before the public he feels confident that no other work can be 
found, so valuable, so instructive, and furnished at so low a price; many 
single recipes being worth a hundred times more than the cost of the book. 

Part I, relating to health and the treatment of disease, is written in 
plain language, avoiding all technical terms, and the formulas and methods 
of treatment are chosen from those best approved in modern practice. 
Many of them have been tested and proved by the author in a medical prac¬ 
tice of over twenty years, and are now for the first time given to the public. 
As a whole, it is believed that this department of the work will be found 
superior to any similar book extant. 

The work differs from any other one extant in this, that its topics are 
treated in familiar essays, followed by formulas and Tecipes in immediate 
connection. 

It would be impracticable, in a preface, to give any general summary of 
the contents of the work. This must be learned from an acquaintance with 
it. A glance at the index, however, will readily suggest its general char¬ 
acter. This is especially full, with a continuous alphabetical classification 
referring directly to the page of the work where any particular subject 
matter is found. 

The illustrations are by one of the best designers in New York (Mr. 
Thomas Fleming), and their execution is by the marvelous photo-engraving 
process, one of the modern wonders, and which is fast superseding the old 
methods of engraving. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FULL PAGE ENGRAVINGS. 

Page 


Author’s Portrait. 

Frontispiece. 

Robust Health Defies Disease. 9 

The Grim Mower with his Miasmatic Scythe. 59 

Malignant Foes of Childhood. 70 

Yosemite—California. 78 

Treatment of Cancer—The Two Methods.116 

Physiclan, Nurse and Patient.. 155 

Take Good Care of the Children. 174 

Accidents—“We Walk Amid Dangers.”.192 

Old People.241 

The Family Meal. 281 

The Household Culinary. 290 

Bounteous Nature Rewards Industry and Thrift.407 

Farm Scenes—Domestic Animals.434 

The Horse, the Noblest of Animals.439 

Fruits of the Vine. 492 

“Write Me a Letter From Home ”. 533 

Measuring Altitudes. 597 

Masonic and Other Funeral Rites. 608 

Mining, Smelting and Lumbering. 613 

Farm Scene—The Tiller. 623 

Illustrative Index Frontispiece.632 


MINOR ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page 


Bathing. 23 

Hay Fever. 69 

Female Invalid. 154 

Recipes . 239 

Neglect .259 

Birds . 274 

Supplies.287 


Page 


The Ox. 291 

Cakes . 346 

Carpets . 383 

Rabbit and Doves .406 

Barrels and Casks .511 

Leopards . 656 














































PART I 


DIVISION I —Hygiene, Materia Medica and Ther¬ 
apeutics. ^ 

DIVISION II —Diseases and their Treatment. 

DIVISION III —Nursing, Treatment of Accidents, 
and Recipes. 


APPENDIX —Subjects not Elsewhere Classified. 



► 














V 



Robust Health Defies Disease 
















































PART I—DIVISION I. 


HYGIENE, MATERIA MEDICA IP THERAPEDTICS. 


INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

It is very common with writers on health and diseases to in¬ 
dulge in a general scolding essay on the habits of people. Many 
persons compare the human family with the animal creation, 
with the mute fishes, with the birds, and with vegetable growth, 
and say that if people lived and grew according to the “ laws of 
nature/’ there would be no sickness and no need of medicines. 
Ah! but “if.” It is needless to reply, perhaps, that the ani¬ 
mals, the fowls, the fishes and the vegetables, have each their 
tribulations and their diseases, which man, in his relation to 
them, is called to prevent, to avert and to prescribe for. It is 
needless, perhaps, to reply that those specimens of the human 
family who dwell in “ a state of nature,” are subject to decimat¬ 
ing visitations, before which they are as powerless as the reed 
before the hurricane, that they increase but slowly in numbers, 
and that when civilization, with all its vices—far removed as it 
is from a “state of nature”—comes against them, they vanish 
like the dew before the sun. It is needless, perhaps, to reply, 
that in the simpler forms of being the wants are few and special; 
that as inducing causes are few, their effects are correspondingly 
few; but that in the increasingly complex relations of progres¬ 
sive man the wants become greater, the hazards are greater, the 
temptations are more, the casualties that throw men out of bal¬ 
ance are more, the demand for means to spur the jaded energies 
are imperative. 

Preventive measures are, it is true, equally important with 
-curative means. And the best preventive is the general enlight¬ 
enment and prosperity of the people. A mere tirade against 



10 


HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS. 


particular vices, as for example the use of liquor and tobacco,, 
can be of little value. Equally unprofitable would be a general 
denunciation of the cluster of blighting vices that hover around 
the sexual relations. These are all important subjects on which 
the human family need to be instructed rather than scolded or 
blamed. But with all the evils that attend their abuse, they 
represent forces in the social economy. It is impossible for all,, 
in the complex relations of society, to avoid excesses in food,, 
drink, or habits, and it is only the well balanced, well disciplined 
few who succeed reasonably well in so doing, and only the very 
few who succeed wholly. While, therefore, it is the office of the 
good physician to instruct in the laws of health—to prescribe 
prevention as well as cure—a comprehensive knowledge of soci¬ 
ety will show that this can be done in a general way much better 
than by a dogmatic dictum directed to a few special facts. 


HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS. 

There are certain prudential means that may be studied with 
a view to the prevention or avoidance of disease. Some of the 
more prominent may be grouped as following: 

1. In the matter of personal cleanliness. On this head refer¬ 
ence is made to “ Baths and Bathing,” in this division of this 
work. 

2. As regards eating. This involves the selection of food, its; 
proper preparation, the times at which it should be eaten, and 
the conditions under which it should be partaken of. On this 
most important topic, reference is made to the remarks on 
Dietetics in the division of this work relating to Domestic 
Economy and the Household, to the division, “ Cookery for the 
Sick,” and to remarks on the subject of the Teeth. 

3. Care hftKe selection of dwellings, to avoid unhealthy loca¬ 
tions, to keep them guarded against extreme changes of temper¬ 
ature, and especially to see that they are properly ventilated and 
the cellars cleansed from decaying matter which would not only 
vitiate the air of the dwelling but the food stored therein. 

4. Care in the matter of clothing, especially in the colder lat¬ 
itudes. 



OCCUPATION AS AFFECTING HEALTH. 


11 


5. Regard for personal habits. In modern business there is 
great temptation to work under a high pressure of endeavor 
during the day, and if men have any traveling to do, spend the 
night on the rail. This may be done for a few years, but is cer¬ 
tain to work disastrously in the end. It is needless to enlarge 
upon the baleful effects of habitual night dissipation in cities. 
Dancing and other social pastimes, however, if not indulged too 
frequently, or at too late hours, have no deleterious effect, but 
on the contrary are rather beneficial as a social and nerve alter¬ 
ative. 

6. Care in the choice of sleeping apartments. Upper rooms 
are usually preferable, and those into which the sun shines dur¬ 
ing some part of the day. Further remarks on this head will be 
found following under the title, “ How to Sleep.” 

7. The importance of pure water. In some sections of the 
'Country the water is liable to be impregnated with deleterious 
substances in the soil; in other cases it is found only in stagnant 
pools or in swampy and marshy places. Again, especially in vil¬ 
lages, it is liable to become impregnated with the washings from 
barns, privies, etc. In addition to other measures, where there 
is a deficiency of pure water, care should be taken in the con¬ 
struction of cisterns and filters for utilizing and cleansing rain 
water. 

Other points might be specified, but it seems hardly necessary, 
•as they are either suggested incidentally in the pages that follow, 
or will readily suggest themselves to the intelligent reader. 

OCCUPATION AS AFFECTING HEALTH. 

The character of one's occupation has, necessarily, much to 
do with the general health. And occupation of some sort is 
quite as important a factor in health as the kind, for in civilized 
life no person can enjoy good health who has not some regular 
oalling that will occupy both body and mind. It is by no means 
necessary or desirable that there should be a continuous and 
slavish subjection to labor, because diversity in the duties of 
life is an essential element; but every person should have some 
defined and responsible place in the world, however humble it 
may be. 

Those callings that involve the greater amount of physical 
exercise, other things being equal, are the most conducive to 


12 


HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS. 


physical health. Among these may be named brickmakers^ 
bricklayers, masons, plasterers, butchers, carpenters, stablemen, 
tanners, coopers, furriers, farmers and gardeners, blacksmiths, 
etc. There are elements of health in most of these occupations- 
aside from the exercise, as for instance those that bring the per¬ 
son in contact with the fresh earth and with the exhalations 
from healthy animals, as horses, cattle, etc., and in case of 
butchers, it is no great stretch of the imagination to suppose 
that they absorb a portion of the vital life of which they deprive 
the animals that they slaughter. 

It is not unlikely, however, that those who pursue these more 
healthful occupations, from the very fullness of health which 
they enjoy, become careless of their habits and regimen, and in 
the end have little to boast of more than their'fellows who pur¬ 
sue less rugged callings. 

People of weakly or frail habit, in choosing occupations, make ; 
a great mistake in selecting those that are of the lighter charac¬ 
ter and involve little physical exertion. It would not be W'ise to 
choose the most laborious, or such as occasion great exposure and 
hardship; but with such persons some calling that takes them a 
good deal out of doors, and that involves moderate physical exer¬ 
cise, is preferable. 

Among those callings that are more or less unhealthy from 
the positions which the operators are required to assume, may 
be named carvers and gilders, curriers, engravers, glue makers,, 
hatters, saddlers, shoemakers, tailors, turners, watchmakers, etc.. 

Many trades are more or less unfavorable by reason of the 
dust, cinders, or exhalations evolved in their pursuit. In this- 
connection may be named: Bookbinders, from vapors of burn¬ 
ing charcoal used by them; brushmakers, from dust and bristles, 
and charcoal; braziers, cabinet-makers, coppersmiths, iron work¬ 
ers, millers, paper makers, starch makers, tobacconists, weavers, 
etc., from dust, and all more or less from the confined quarters 
that they occupy; bakers and cooks, from a certain irregularity 
of their habits, vapors arising from their occupations, and 
uncertain periods of eating; brewers, dyers, glass-workers and 
hatters, from sudden changes of temperature and inhaling 
unwholesome fumes; painters, plumbers and potters, by reason 
of lead used in their trades. The unfavorable effects connected 
with the foregoing trades manifest themselves chiefly in som& 


TEMPERAMENT AS RELATED TO HEALTH. 


13 


form of throat or pulmonary difficulty, by reason of the unhealthy 
exhalations or particles being carried to the lungs. The most 
marked effects from lead poisoning are vertigo or dizziness, vom¬ 
iting, impaired digestion, constipation, and “painters’ colic.” 

But it should not be supposed that because some trades have 
especial elements of unhealthfulness connected with them that 
they should be avoided. It would be impossible to choose any 
line of life that would be free from difficulties and tribulations, 
and were we to seek to do so, the result would be that we should 
find no place that would just suit us, and should therefore do- 
nothing. The better way is to choose that calling in life for 
which we have a preference, and, being advised of its casualties,, 
avoid them so far as we may, and for the rest, resolutely face 
them. 

There is a mistaken impression that the trade of a printer has 
about it something that is unwholesome, which can hardly be 
said with truth, beyond the confined quarters in which the trade 
is usually pursued. Printers employed on morning papers should 
however have strong physical and nervous constitutions; and 
besides, night work is likely to induce a degree of recklessness 
leading to dissipation. But as a rule, printers are usually quite as; 
healthy as any class of mechanics. But a person inclined to 
stoop, or with a weak or sunken chest, should never choose this 
calling. 

Beyond their sedentary character, there is no general element 
of unhealthfulness in the professions. But from this cause, and 
from close mental application, professional men are quite subject 
to dyspepsia, indigestion, and piles. Physicians and nurses run 
greater risks than those engaged in any other of the professions, 
from the deleterious atmosphere of the sick room, from irreg¬ 
ular hours, from contagion, and from the danger of poisoning 
from instruments used in surgery and in post mortem examin¬ 
ations. 


TEMPERAMENT AS RELATED TO HEALTH. 

No exact classification of temperaments would be possible, nor 
would any elaborate analysis of the temperaments and what is 
implied by them be practicable in this connection. It has been 
the custom to classify the human race under four heads, called 
temperaments, which were supposed to indicate something of 


14 


HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS. 


the tendency of mind and faculty in the person, as, the San¬ 
guine, Bilious, Nervous, and Lymphatic. This classification was 
based upon the supposed properties of the fluids of the body. 
Another classification is based upon external indications, as, 
the Cephalic, or development of the head and brain; the 
Thoracic, or development of the thorax, lungs and heart; the 
Abdominal, or development of the abdominal region or belly; 
.and the Muscular, or development of the limbs and muscular 
or active force. According as there is a full development of one 
or the other of these temperamental divisions, the person is sup¬ 
posed to possess a corresponding degree of force; or in other 
words, that the seat of force or power in the person is supposed 
to reside in the region or part most prominently developed. This 
will be the more clearly understood by a brief statement of the 
supposed peculiarities of persons of different temperaments, as 
well as of the diseases to which persons of different tempera¬ 
ments are the more liable. 

The Cephalic Temperament. —Characterized by a predom¬ 
inant development of the brain, is a temperament of mild char¬ 
acter, in which animal impulse is overruled by the higher senti¬ 
ments and faculties. Adapted to the life of a sedentary student, 
but unfit for vigorous action. Unless combined with a liberal 
"Share of the Muscular temperament, it manifests a tendency to 
tuberculous disease and general debility. 

The Thoracic Temperament.—Is the most active of the 
four, indicating active circulation and areation of the blood, 
producing general activity of mind and body. It presents 
active phenomena in disease, responding readily to medicines, 
especially to stimulants, and is frequently defective in the func¬ 
tions of the abdominal viscera, the appetite and evacuations 
being moderate. 

The Abdominal Temperament. —Characterized as before 
-stated by large abdominal development; is said to indicate gen¬ 
eral inefficiency and relaxation, constituting the lowest grade of 
humanity. 

The Muscular Temperament.— Characterized by large limbs 
and powerful muscles, indicating great vital force and endurance ; 
is scarcely ever attacked by tuberculous or scrofulous diseases, 
though liable to rheumatism and inflammatory fevers, but with 
little tendency to sink into the typhoid state. 


HOW TO SLEEP. 


15 ’ 


There are of course interblendings of the temperaments that 
modify the more marked characteristics that their more ultra 
manifestation would indicate. Persons in contracting marriage 
would do well to study these temperamental indications, because 
a preponderance of any one in both husband and wife would be 
likely to prove less congenial than a greater diversity, besides the 
liability to produce children abnormally developed in the one 
direction. 


HOW TO SLEEP. 

Sancho Panza said, “ Heaven bless the man who first invented 
sleep.” So the man who can tell us something of how to enjoy 
the better quality of sleep should come in for a share of the bless¬ 
ing. A good digestion, a healthful nervous action, so much 
exercise in some useful calling as will fit the body for repose, 
and a clear conscience, are all good recipes for a wholesome 
slumber. 

Sleeping with the Head to the North.— It is not a new 

theory that beds should be placed with the head to the north on 
account of the physical magnetism that is known to flow in a 
current to the northward. If a mere magnet exercises an influ¬ 
ence on sensitive persons, the earth’s magnetism must certainly 
make itself felt on the nervous life of man. In whatever hemi¬ 
sphere, you may always sleep with your feet to the equator, and 
let your body lie “true as a needle to the pole.” 

The proper direction of the body is of the utmost importance 
for the proper circulation of the blood, and many disturbances: 
in the organisms have been cured by simply placing the bolster 
in a different point of the compass from that it had occupied. 

The most unhealthy position, we are told, is when the body 
lies due east and west. Some observers assure us that to sleep 
in such a posture is tantamount to committing suicide, and that 
diseases are often aggravated by deviations from the proper pos¬ 
tures. 

Sleeping Together. —It is not well to lodge a number of 
children together, nor in a close room. 

Children should not sleep with old people, especially those who 
have passed the “ turn of life.” It may be an attractive thought 
for children to “ sleep with grandma,” but grandma should know 
that while she may be strengthened and refreshed by having her' 


16 


HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS. 


grandchildren for bedfellows, it must be at the expense of the 
•children. 

Dr. E. B. Foote, in his work, “ Home Talk,” etc., takes 
decided ground against the habitual sleeping together of hus¬ 
bands and wives. He says: “This practice leads in a measure 
to uncongeniality. From five to eight hours bodily contact in 
every twenty-four with one person, not only causes an equaliza¬ 
tion of those magnetic elements which, when diverse in quantity 
and quality, produce physical attraction and passional love, but 
it promotes permanent uncongeniality by making the married 
pair grow alike physically. The interchange of individual elec¬ 
tricities, and the absorption of each other’s exhalations, lead 
directly to temperamental inadaptation, and to this cause may 
doubtless be ascribed one of the chief reasons why a husband and 
wife manifest such a tendency to grow alike after many years of 
matrimonial companionship.” 

Another writer says: “More quarrels arise between brothers, 
between sisters, between hired girls, between school girls, between 
clerks in stores, between apprentices in mechanic shops, between 
hired men, between husbands and wives, owing to electrical 
changes which their nervous systems undergo by reason of lodg¬ 
ing together night after night under the same bed clothes, than 
by any other disturbing cause. There is nothing that will so 
derange the nervous system of a person who is eliminative in 
nervous force as to lie all night in bed with another person who 
is absorbent in nervous force. The absorber will go to sleep and 
rest all night, while the eliminator will be tumbling and tossing, 
restless and nervous, and wake up in the morning fretful, peev¬ 
ish, fault-finding and discouraged.” 

To Keep Cool During Hot Nights.— Just before lying 
down bathe the body all over in cold water, and allow the mois¬ 
ture to remain without drying it off; the heat will be absorbed 
by the water and carried from the body as evaporation takes 
place ; in very hot countries the cot or bed may also be sprinkled 
with cool water. There is no danger of taking cold, and a good 
refreshing night’s rest may be had. This is applicable only in 
hot climates. 


BATHS AND BATHING. 


17 


BATHS AND BATHING. 

Bathing deserves to be ranked among the arts. Every family, 
rich and poor, ought to have bathing facilities. Many wealthy 
people imagine that when their mansions are supplied with 
splendid mirrors, velvet carpets, sofas, and other costly furni¬ 
ture, of which they will soon tire after the novelty ceases, that 
all things are complete; but unless they have a room for bath¬ 
ing, with the necessary appliances therefor, their houses want 
one of the most necessary appendages of health and comfort, 
and they ought to be charged with the responsibility for 
many of the diseases which afflict their families, in neglecting 
to provide this fountain of health. 

The perfection of the bath may be regarded as an index of 
the civilization of a people. Bathing should be a habit, like 
other things in the daily economy, but regulated by prudence 
and convenience. It is not well to bathe always because one 
is in the habit of doing so regularly, any more than it is to 
eat because it is meal time, when one has no relish. The person 
accustomed to bathe will judge of this. 

TEMPERATURE OF BATHS. 

The temperature of different kinds of baths is shown by the 
following figures representing degrees of Fahrenheit: 


Cold.30 to 60. 

Cool.60 “ 75. 

Temperate.75 “ 85. 

Tepid.85 “ 92. 

Warm.92 “ 98. 

Hot.98 and upwards. 

Vapor Bath.... .100 to 130 and upwards. 


THE TUB BATH. 

The common tub bath, in which the person lies at full length, 
is the kind mostly in use in cities and private dwellings, and is 
the most convenient for all purposes. It is taken at all degrees 
of heat, from cold to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature 
should be regulated very much by the sensations and effects, but 
with some persons the temptation is strong to indulge an exces¬ 
sive degree of heat. The hot bath should not be used beyond 









18 


BATHS AND BATHING. 


ten or fifteen minutes, and should be followed by a wash, either 
from a spray sprinkler or by a towel or sponge, going from tepid 
to cold, and followed by mild rubbing and drying. This style 
of bath is used mainly for cleanliness, but in many conditions of 
the system it has a therapeutic effect also. An ordinary bathing 
tub will hold from 60 to 70 gallons of water. 

MEDICATED BATHS. 

Acid Bath. —The acid bath is indicated in diseases of the 
liver and spleen, constipation, syphillitic eruptions, etc. The 
tub bath is the best means of application. Pure cider vinegar, 
acetic, citric, and pother vegetable acids, may be used. The 
Scott acid bath is made by mixing muriatic acid three parts, 
nitric acid two parts, and water five parts, using three ounces of 
the mixture to each gallon of water. This last should only be 
used in a wooden bath. 

Alkaline Bath. —Especially recommended as a diaphoretic, 
to cleanse the skin when clogged with effete matter. May be 
made by infusing common wood ashes, pearlash, or carbonate of 
soda, in water so as to feel a little slippery to the touch, but not 
so as to cause smarting of the surface. In acute congestive dis¬ 
eases the bath should be applied hot, with the addition of a 
little alcohol, tincture of capsicum (cayenne pepper), or other 
active stimulant. In most chronic cases it is recommended cold 
to tepid. 

Salt Water Bath.— Salt is electrical, and some of the 
advantages of the sea bath may be derived from dissolving com¬ 
mon salt in water for ordinary baths in the proportion of say a 
pound of salt to fifteen or twenty gallons of water. 

The common tub bath is the best method of employing the 
medicinal agents above prescribed. They may however be used 
in the smaller baths and by means of the towel or sponge bath. 

Sulphur Bath.— For itch and diseases of the skin. Add an 
ounce of sulphuret of potassium to every ten gallons of water. 
A half pound to a pound of the flour of sulphur, infused for 
several hours in tepid water, stirring it frequently, may be used 
in place of the sulphuret, adding it to the contents (60 or more 
gallons) of the ordinary bath tub. Sulphur and its preparations 
should only be used in unpainted wooden vessels, and should 
not come in contact with lead, as it will cause discoloration. 


THE SPIRIT VAPOR BATH. 


19 


THE SPIRIT YAPOR BATH. 

This is one of the best forms of medicinal bath for domestic 
practice, and is especially good in cases of violent colds, conges¬ 
tions, rheumatism, neuralgia, skin diseases, inflammatory attacks, 
suddenly obstructed menstruation, and in the early stages of 
fever, and in all cases of chills and fever or fever and ague, if 
taken a little before the time that the chill should come on. 
Place the patient on a chair (a wood-bottomed chair is best), and 
encase both patient and chair with blankets reaching to the floor 
and closing snugly round the neck. To prevent too great a 
determination of heat to the head, wring a large towel out of 
cold water so that it will not drip, and fold it in several thick¬ 
nesses and lay it upon the head. 

Put one, two or three tablespoonfuls of alcohol in a saucer, set it 
in a bowl or some other earthen dish, set the alcohol on fire with a 
match or taper, and place it under the chair, seeing to it that it be 
not uncomfortably hot for the patient. It may be necessary to re¬ 
new the supply of alcohol if it burns out before the full effect is 
secured, but do not undertake to replenish it until the flame goes 
out, lest it occasion a conflagration. The sweating process is 
facilitated by placing the feet in hot water and by taking light 
draughts of cold water. When a free moisture appears on the 
forehead the bath is having its best effect, and should be discon¬ 
tinued in a very few moments and the patient placed in bed and 
covered warmly, drinking moderately of cold water as desired, 
and allowed to sweat freely for several hours, or all night, after 
which the body should be cleansed with a sponge or towel and 
warm water, and gently dried with towels, which may be profit¬ 
ably succeeded by a gentle hand rubbing. But if the patient 
should become weak, restless or “ hypoish,” let him be relieved, 
cleansed, and placed in dry clothing and dry bed, and may be 
given some stimulant suited to his condition. 

To make a steam vapor bath : A spirit lamp with a basin of 
water placed over it so as to evolve steam freely, and set under 
the chair, will give all the outward requisites of the vapor bath. 
In the absence of a spirit lamp, heat two or three bricks, stones 
or irons, place a vessel partly filled with hot water under the 
chair, and taking the heated article in a pair of tongs, immerse 
it in the water so as to create steam freely. 


20 


BATHS AND BATHING. 


THE FOOT BATH. 

The warm foot bath is an easy and most excellent application. 
The water should be as warm as can well be borne, and as it 
cools, hot water should be added to keep up the temperature. 
The bath should be deep enough to reach above the calves, if 
possible. Its action may be helped by drinking some warm infu¬ 
sion. The forehead and hands becoming warm and moist will 
be evidence of the desired result. Upon being removed from the 
bath, the feet and legs should be dried by gently rubbing with 
a towel, and so protected as to keep them warm. If for the 
relief of some local pain or inflammation, apply heated cloths, 
or cloths wrung from hot water, upon the part at the same time. 
Or if it be desired to produce a profuse sweating, make similar 
applications about the loins, hips and lower abdomen, keeping 
the body generally well covered, and when the perspiration is 
well established place the patient in bed and treat as in case of 
the vapor bath. Hot pennyroyal tea, taken at the time of the 
bath or during its more active effect, is excellent in cases of 
absent menstruation. 

THE HIP OR SITZ BATH. 

For this an ordinary wash-tub is all that is required, the patient 
sitting in the tub with the hips immersed in water. A foot bath 
may be made serviceable at the same time. Both of these may 
be employed in reducing fevers; the upper portion of the body 
being freely served by a large wet cloth or sheet in the hands of 
an attendant, using water from seventy-five to ninety degrees 
Fahrenheit. The bath may be continued five, ten, or fifteen 
minutes, according to circumstances, drying as quickly as prac¬ 
ticable as in other cases, and placing the patient warmly covered 
in bed. The hip bath is used in cases of suppressed men¬ 
struation, in which case it should be supplemented with the 
hot pennyroyal tea, as under the foot-bath treatment. It is also 
employed to relieve retention of urine and other diseases. 

SPONGE OR TOWEL BATH. 

As a mere cleansing operation, the process of washing by 
means of a sponge, towel or cloth, is the most common form of 
bath, and for persons in health no special directions are neces¬ 
sary. For the feeble and invalids, some care should be used, 


SHEET BATH-COLD AFFUSIONS. 21 

applying the water only on small sections of the body at a time, 
and then rubbing dry before a sense of chilliness supervenes, fol¬ 
lowing up the work in this manner until the whole surface has 
been gone over. Water of any temperature may be used, as sen¬ 
sations and results seem to indicate. The patient or subject may 
make the application himself, or have an attendant. He may 
stand in a wash-tub, using the water from the tub, or may spread 
down a piece of old carpet or cloth, using water from a bucket or 
bowl. Or if careful not to use too much water, squeezing or 
wringing the sponge or towel sufficiently, this form of bath may 
be taken on the nicest carpet without injury to it. It is essen¬ 
tially everybody’s bath, that may be enjoyed by rich or poor. A 
cold sponge bath may be employed to check night sweats in con¬ 
sumption, and clammy sweats during convalescence from fevers, 
carefully drying the surface and changing the night clothes. 
During the continuance of fevers, temperate or tepid water is 
best. 

SHEET BATH. 

Take a coarse sheet, dripping, from immersion in moderately 
warm water; the patient, standing erect, is enveloped with it 
from behind, by an attendant, and pressing the sheet closely 
upon all parts of the body with the hands, it is then removed 
and replaced by a dry sheet, closing it carefully round the neck 
and in front. The attendant then rubs on the outside of the 
sheet, pressing the hands snugly, but not so as to rub the sheet 
upon the skin, continuing the rubbing from three to five min¬ 
utes on all parts of the body until the surface feels a glowing 
warmth, then removing the sheet and drying with towels, and 
then rubbing with the hands. Or a sheet may be wrung out so 
as not to drip, rubbing upon it in place of the dry sheet, and 
then drying and rubbing as before. It is a good tonic and stim¬ 
ulant in chronic diseases. 

COLD AFFUSIONS. 

In cases of epilepsy, fainting, hysteria, suffocation by gas or 
charcoal, apoplexy, and other cases of suspended animation, 
pouring water upon the head or body from a height of two or 
three feet for a few seconds, dashing cold water on the face or 
chest, and slapping with a wet towel, are resorted to. In such 
cases the part should be carefully dried and wrapped. 


22 


BATHS AND BATHING. 


HOT LOCAL BATH. 

Retention and difficulty in passing urine, pains in the back, 
kidneys, stomach, bowels, etc., are usually relieved by hot 
local applications properly within the category of baths, as sev¬ 
eral thicknesses of flannel cloth, dry, heated, or wrung from 
hot water and applied to the part, replacing it frequently and 
continuing the application until it has the desired effect. For 
young infants who have not passed water, apply over the lower 
abdomen and urinary organs. 

DOUCHE, SHOWER, AND SPRAY BATHS. 

These forms of bath are favorites in hydrophatic establisments, 
but they are not practicable for family use. The shower bath 
is used more or less in domestic life, but the treatment is so vio¬ 
lent that injury rather than benefit more frequently results from 
it, and it is not recommended unless under medical advice. 

THE SUN BATH. 

One of the best external tonics in cases of prostration and 
debility is the Sun bath. Any person who has a window into 
which the sun shines, can enjoy the sun bath by simply undress¬ 
ing and lying on a lounge or sitting in a chair and basking in 
the sun for half an hour. The morning sun is best. It is 
best not to use any water, but before dressing a little gentle fric¬ 
tion with a soft linen towel or soft flannel cloth, or rubbing with 
the hand by a strong, robust person, from gentle to vigorous, as 
may be agreeable to the patient, will be good, and the under¬ 
clothing to be used should also be placed in the sun while the 
bath is in progress. 


ELECTRICAL BATHS. 

Electricity is applied in the bath in several forms. A very 
good way in weakness of the lower limbs, is to take two vessels 
of warm water, being careful that they do not touch each other, 
place one foot in each, and immerse one pole of a galvanic bat¬ 
tery in each. Or, for spinal and nervous weakness, place both 
feet with one pole of the battery in a warm foot bath, applying 
the other pole wrapped in a number of folds of wet cloth, and 
large enough to cover a considerable surface, over the loins, back, 
or upper portion of the spinal column or backbone. This will 


BRIEF RULES FOR BATHERS. 


23 

require an assistant; and an equally good or better way is for 
the assistant to hold one pole of the battery in one hand and 
pass the other hand over the patient where the effect is desired 
to be produced, placing the flat of the hand snugly on the sur¬ 
face from point to point and holding it there a few seconds, or 
longer if found desirable. 

BRIEF RULES FOR BATHERS. 

The following rules for bathers are subjoined : 

1. Never bathe immediately after eating; a full bath should 
not follow a full meal under three hours. 

2. Never eat immediately after bathing; an hour after a full 
bath and half an hour after a local bath. 

3. Never take a cold bath when inclined to chilliness. 

4. If inclined to headache, wet the head with cold water before 
bathing; and do this always before plunge or surf bathing. 

5. Never suffer the feet to remain cold after a bath; warm 
them by friction or artificial heat. 

6. Do not sit in a draught of cold air after bathing. 

7. Bathing soon after violent exercise is not good. 

8. Exercise after bathing should be prudently governed by the 
physical condition of the bather. 

9. In cases of great debility, and for all feeble persons, baths 
of moderate temperature are best; those that produce a shock, 
as shower, douche, and plunge baths, should be avoided. 

10. Daily bathing is good, but like everything else it demands 
intermissions; hence omit it when you feel disinclined to it. 

11. Use water of a mild temperature for bathing rather than 
resort to violent exercise to get up a reaction after the bath. 

12. The temperature of the bathing room should be such as 
not to occasion a chill on coming from the bath. 




















24 


MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 


MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 

The following medical preparations have been carefully selected 
from those in use by the author during many years of medical 
practice, and collated from those best approved by the Pharma- 
copias and works on Materia Medica. 

HOT FOMENTATIONS AND POULTICES. 

Hot fomentations are serviceable in treating many forms of 
disease, and in some they are indispensable. Hops, stramonium 
or jimson weed, tansy, hoarhound, catnip, lobelia, etc., either 
in the herb or in tincture, are among the most common agents 
employed. The herbs should be simmered in water, or vinegar 
and water, until their strength responds to the liquid, when they 
should be placed between thin muslin cloths, applied as hot as 
the patient can bear, and covered with a number of thicknesses 
of heated cloths. Material should be prepared for two applica¬ 
tions, so that as one is removed the other may be applied. The 
same application may be used over and over, using the liquid in 
which it was steeped, or adding hot water to keep it moist. 
They should be changed every five to eight minutes, using care 
not to expose the part to the cold air during the changes. When 
using tinctures instead of the herbs, prepare a lotion by adding 
to a sufficient quantity of water, or vinegar and water, or whis¬ 
key and water, so much of the tincture as will give it the requi¬ 
site strength, warm the lotion, and place it where it will keep 
warm, and saturate and wring from it several thicknesses of 
flannel or muslin, applying hot to the part as in other cases. 
Vinegar or whiskey should form an ingredient, if practicable, 
in any fomentation, and hops form a good combination with 
other ingredients when not used alone. 

Hop Fomentation. —In bilious colic, inflammation of the 
lungs, and other cases requiring energetic treatment, the best 
fomentation is made as follows : Take a quart of vinegar, put it 
in a kettle, and add as much hops as the vinegar will take up ; 
boil them together for five or ten minutes, and stir in as much 
corn meal as will make the whole into a thick mush. The meal 
is added simply to give consistence to the mass so as to retain 


FOMENTATIONS AND POULTICES. 


25 


the heat and not wet the bedding. If corn meal is not at hand 
shorts, or bran and flour mixed together, will do. Spread this 
thickly upon an ample piece of muslin cloth (if two or three 
inches thick all the better), and apply hot. If too hot to be 
applied next the skin, lay folds of cloth between. The essential 
point is to get the heat and the fullest effect of the hops and 
vinegar as soon as possible, and to hold their effect as long as 
possible. 

Hot Mustard Foot Bath. —Prepare a bucket or tub the 
same as for an ordinary foot bath, filling it a third to half full 
of water as hot as the patient can bear with comfort. Put in it 
about two tablespoonfuls ground mustard (more or less accord¬ 
ing to the degree of strength desired). Provide a reserve of hot 
water (boiling hot or nearly so), and after keeping the feet in the 
bath for a short time, add hot water to keep up the temperature, 
keeping it as hot as the patient can bear for ten or fifteen min¬ 
utes. The parts should then be gently dried and warmly 
wrapped. 

Slippery Elm Poultice. —Take of Slippery Elm bark, in 
powder, half an ounce, and a sufficient amount of hot water to 
form a poultice of the proper consistence. This poultice is val¬ 
uable in all cases of burns, scalds, swellings, inflamations, ulcers, 
painful tumors, abscesses, and wherever a general soothing, emol¬ 
lient poultice is required. 

Yeast Poultice. —Applicable to sores and indolent ulcers. 
Made by taking 5 ounces of Yeast and a pound of flour (or in 
that proportion), and adding to water at blood heat so as to form 
a tolerably stiff dough; set in a warm place (but not so as to 
scald) until it begins to ferment or “ rise,” and apply like any 
poultice. 

Arnica. —Arnica is among the most common of remedies for 
local pains and for bruises and external injuries. It may be 
applied either in the form of a poultice of the flowers, or the 
tincture diluted with water as a wet dressing. Arnica is also 
administered internally as a stimulant, but its use in this form 
except under the direction of a physician should not be encour¬ 
aged. 

Poppyheads. —Used as a fomentation in inflammations and 
swellings, by boiling a handful (bruised) in 3 pints water for \ 
of an hour; applied by cloths saturated with the hot liquid. 

2 


26 


MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 


PLASTERS. 

Compound Tar Plaster.—Boil Tar 6 ounces for half an 
hour; take Burgundy Pitch 3 ounces, White Gum Turpentine 
2 ounces, melt them together, strain, and add to the Tar; stir 
them together, remove from the fire, and add Mandrake root, 
Bloodroot, Poke root, and Indian Turnip, of each one ounce, 
finely powdered. Incorporate the whole well together. 

This plaster is a counter-irritant. Its operation is, by produc¬ 
ing an irritation on the external surface, to draw out and relieve 
internal inflammation. It should be spread thinly on soft leather 
or cloth and applied to the surface where the effect is to be pro¬ 
duced. In three or four days small pustules will form under it, 
showing suppuration or ulceration. The discharge should be 
kept up as long as the nature of the case requires, for this purpose 
renewing the plaster once a day, or oftener if the discharge is so 
profuse as to require it. The sore surface should not be wet, as it 
will make it more painful. If the plaster causes too much pain, 
remove it, and if there is much inflammation of the surface 
apply an elm poultice; otherwise a simple tallow dressing to 
keep the part soft while healing. 

Mustard Plaster. —Take ground mustard and mix with 
water into a thin paste, and spread on a cloth, and lay another 
cloth on top—this to keep the plaster from drying and sticking 
to the skin. The cloth next the patient should be of the thin¬ 
nest muslin procurable, so as to allow the fullest action of the 
mustard. The plaster may be mixed with cold water, but the 
application will be less unpleasant if it is warmed a little. Unless 
the object is to raise a blister, the plaster ordinarily should 
remain on only from three to five minutes, but may be renewed 
if necessary after the first perceptible effect has subsided or par¬ 
tially so. For children, and in other cases where a milder action 
is desired, corn meal or flour may be added to the mustard. 

INFUSIONS. 

Catnip. —Is carminative, diaphoretic, and refrigerant. It pro¬ 
duces perspiration effectually, and is most useful in colds; throw¬ 
ing off fever, and restoring to health rapidly. It is good for 
nervous complaints, indigestion, wind colic, and is very suitable 
for infants and children in belly-ache, flatulency, etc. 

Pennyroyal. —This plant is perennial. It flowers in August 


TINCTURES. 


27 


aind September. It is warm, pungent, aromatic, stimulating, 
.and diaphoretic ; like spearmint, but not so agreeable. It con¬ 
tains a volatile oil which is obtained by distillation. The infusion 
is warming to the stomach, and allays sickness. It relieves spasms, 
hysterics, flatulency, and colic, and promotes expectoration in 
dry consumptive coughs. It promotes perspiration, and is most 
valuable in obstruction of the menses. 

Dandelion. —A decoction of Dandelion may be useful in 
•torpid conditions of the liver, jaundice, constipation, etc. Put 
4 ounces of the bruised root in a pint and a half of water, boil 
.down to a pint, and strain. Dose.— A wineglass full or more 
(2 to 3 ounces) two or three times a day. 

Ioeland Moss. —A preparation useful in consumption and 
.dysentery. A decoction may be made of 5 drachms in water 
pints, boiled down to a pint; strain. Dose.— A half to a full 
wineglass, several times a day, if found agreeable. 

Buchu Leaves. —They are diuretic and tonic, and a most 
valuable remedy in rheumatism, irritable bladder, gravel, strict¬ 
ure, etc. They are given in infusion and tincture. Infuse % 
ounce of leaves in \ pint of boiling water, for 3 or 4 hours. A 
wineglassful for a dose 2 or 3 times a day; or from 1 drachm to 
J ounce of the tincture. 

Anise.__This plant is a native of Egypt, and is cultivated 
throughout Europe for its seeds. It is a carminative stimulant, 
and is an excellent remedy for pain in the stomach and bowels 
and flatulent colic, especially for infants. A tea for this pur¬ 
pose may be prepared by pouring a teacup of boiling water on 
2 teaspoonfuls of bruised seed, and giving a teaspoonful of the 
infusion every half hour until relieved. 

TINCTURES. 

Compound Tincture of Virginia Snake Root.— Take 
•8 scruples each, in coarse powder, of Virginia snake root, ipe¬ 
cacuanha, saffron, opium, and camphor, and one part of Hol¬ 
land gin or proof spirit. Mix, macerate for 2 weeks, express, 
and filter. 

This tinctuie tends to produce perspiration, and is used for 
that purpose when it is desirable to induce sleep. 

Antispasmodic Tincture.—Take of lobelia, capsicum, 
skunk cabbage, each, in powder, 1 ounce, dilute alcohol X 


28 


MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 


pint. Mix, macerate for 14 days, express, and filter through 
paper. 

This is a very prompt and efficacious antispasmodic, highly 
beneficial in cramps, spasms, convulsions, lockjaw, hysteric con¬ 
vulsions during pregnancy, etc. The dose is from half a tea¬ 
spoonful to a teaspoonful, every 10 or 20 minutes, or as often 
as required. In convulsions and lockjaw, it may be poured 
into the corner of the mouth, and repeated as often as necessary ; 
generally, the effect is almost instantaneous. 

Tincture of Capsicum. —Take of cayenne pepper half 
an ounce, dilute alcohol 1 pint. Mix, and macerate for 14 days* 
and filter. 

This is a prompt and permanent stimulant, very useful in many 
low and depressed conditions of the system. Dose.— From 5 to 
60 drops in water, every 3 or 4 hours. It is also used externally 
as a stimulating application in indolent ulcers, tumors, chronic 
inflammation of the eyes, painful affections, etc. Frequently 
used also as a wash or gargle in ulceration of the throat, and 
falling down or relaxation of the palate. 

Essences. —Essences of peppermint, cinnamon, wintergreen, 
etc., are made by adding one ounce of the oils to one pint of 
alcohol. When used internally the dose is 15 to 30 drops. 

COMPOUND PREPARATIONS. 

Compound Emetic. —Take of lobelia, blood root, skunk 
cabbage, wild ginger, and pleurisy root, coarsely powdered, one 
ounce each. Place them in a vessel, pour on a pint of boiling 
water or vinegar, and cover tightly. When cold, add alcohol* 
3 pints. Macerate for 14 days, express, and filter through paper. 

This forms an excellent emetic for children and infants, and 
may be safely used in croup, whooping cough, bronchitis* 
asthma, convulsions, and in all cases where an emetic is required. 
Also useful as an expectorant or nauseant in coughs, pleurisy, 
asthma, and whenever expectorants are indicated. The dose- 
for an emetic varies from half a teaspoonful for a child from two- 
to six months old, to a tablespoonful for children from three to 
six years of age, given in a little molasses and water, repeating 
every 10 minutes until vomiting is produced. Warm water or 
boneset tea will facilitate its operation. Smaller doses taken in 
an infusion of slippery elm will act as an expectorant. 


COMPOUND PREPARATIONS. 


29 


Compound Tincture of Lobelia and Capsicum.— 

Known as King’s Antispasmodic Tincture. Take of lobelia, 
capsicum and skunk cabbage, in powder, an ounce each, 
dilute alcohol 1 pint. Mix, macerate for 14 days, and filter 
through paper. 

This is highly beneficial in cramps, spasms, convulsions, 
lockjaw, hysterical convulsions during pregnancy, etc. It is 
an officinal preparation, of great value as an antispasmodic. 
Dose.— from half a teaspoonful to a teaspoonful every 10 or 20 
minutes, or as often as required. Where the patient is unable 
to swallow, as in convulsions and lockjaw, it may be poured 
into the corner of the mouth. 

Compound Podophyllin Pills.— Mix thoroughly with a 
little gum arabic mucilage and divide into 30 pills: 


R. Podophyllin.15 grains. 

Leptandrin. 30 grains. 

Extract Hyosciamus. 20 grains. 

Extract Rhubarb. 15 grains. 

Capsicum. 15 grains. 


D 0 SE# _As a free cathartic, take 2 or 3 pills at bed time and repeat 
the following night if they have not operated. To act on the liver as 
•.an alterative or blood purifier, the dose may be one pill each night, 
until the bowels act freely, when they should be discontinued for two or 
three days, and afterwards taken in small doses every other night. This is 
a valuable medicine, and frequently prescribed as the reader will notice in 
various parts of this work. 

Compound Syrup of Rhubarb and Potassa.— A mild 


laxative, prepared as follows : 

I*. Rhubarb. 1 drachm. 

Bicarbonate of Potassa. 1 drachm. 

Peppermint Plant, dry. 1 drachm. 


Make fine, mix, and put into hot water; steep for 15 or 20 minutes, 
strain, and sweeten with white sugar ; when cold, add 1 ounce of the 
"best brandy. Dose.— For an adult, 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls ; for a child, 1 
teaspoonful; repeat every 3 hours, or oftener if necessary. 

This preparation is especially valuable in bowel complaints, as 
cholera morbus, cholera infantum, diarrhoea and ^dysentery. 
These, with children, usually arise from acidity of the stomach. 
In small doses it is effective in checking nausea and vomiting, 
especially in cholera morbus. Is also a general corrective in 
.disordered states of the stomach and bowels. 










MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 


30 


Compound Powder of Jalap.— Is compounded as fol¬ 
lows : 


]$. Alexandria Senna, pulv. 4 drachms. 

Jalap, pulv. 2 drachms. 

Ginger. 30 grains. 

Mix all together thoroughly. Dose.— For an adult, about an even tea¬ 
spoonful, mixed with cold water ; for children, a less quantity. 


This is in the list of mild cathartics, is thorough in its action* 
operates inside of an hour, produces no nausea or griping, and 
leaves the bowels in good condition. It is especially good in 
wind or bilious colic. It should be kept ready for use as a fam¬ 
ily medicine, and notwithstanding its somewhat unpleasant taste 
it should have a wide preference. 

Diaphoretic Powder. —A sweating remedy much used in 
fevers and many other diseases. 


3. Opium.30 grains. 

Camphor. 2 drachms. 

Ipecacuanha. ... 1 drachm. 

Bitartrate of Potash. 1 ounce. 


Pulverize each separately and mix thoroughly. Dose. —For an adult,. 
2 to 5 grains ; for a child, dissolve the powder in the proportion of 1 
grain to a tablespoonful of sweetened water, and give in doses of half a 
teaspoonful as often as required. Also employed to relieve pain, quiet 
irritation of the nervous system, and induce sleep. 

Spiced Syrup of Rhubarb —Is compounded as follows r 


1$. Fluid Ex. Rhubarb. 1 ounce. 

Tinct. Cinnamon. 2 drachms. 

“ Cloves. 2 drachms. 

“ Nutmeg. . 2 drachms. 

Simple Syrup. 6 ounces. 


Mix. Dose. —For an infant from \ to 1 teaspoonful, repeated every 2 hours, 
until the color of the alvine evacuations indicate its action upon the bowels. 

This is a mild laxative, stomachic and astringent: Valua¬ 
ble in bowel-complaints of infants, to allay nausea, check vomit¬ 
ing, diarrhoea, and purging. 

Composition Powder. —Finely pulverize and thoroughly 
mix together the following : 


1$. BayberryBark. 1 ounce. 

Hemlock .Bark. ounce. 

Ginger Root. | ounce. 

Cayenne Pepper . 30 grains. 

Cloves.30 grains. 



















COMPOUND PREPARATIONS. 


31 


Dose. —One half teaspoonful of the powder and a teaspoonful of sugar; 
place in a teacup, pour the teacup half full of boiling water, let stand a few 
minutes, fill up with milk, and drink freely. If milk is not to be had, fill 
the cup with water. When taken, the patient should go to bed, with hot 
applications to the feet. This preparation is valuable in colds, influenza, 
fever, cold extremities, pain in bowels, etc. 

Compound Infusion of Parsley. —Take of parsley roots 
and seeds, and subcarbonate of iron, each, 2 ounces; horse¬ 
radish root 1 ounce; squill, juniper berries, white mustard 
seed, mandrake root, and queen of the meadow root, each, £ 
ounce; bruise these articles (or the roots may be coarsely sliced), 
and place them in boiling cider 3 quarts; cover the vessel, 
which should be earthen, and expose it to a gentle heat for 24 
hours. The cider should not be hard, nor too new, but spark¬ 
ling and pleasantly tart; and after digestion by heat it should 
be allowed to remain upon the articles, that it may become still 
further impregnated with the properties of the medicines. 

This is useful in several varieties of dropsy, increasing the 
action of the kidneys, regulating the bowels, improving the 
digestive functions, and promoting the activity of the absorbent 
vessels. The dose may be any quantity up to half a teacupful or 
more. 

ASTRINGENT STYPTICS. 

Substances that constrict the animal fibre and coagulate the 
blood and albumen. When employed to check bleeding, they 
are called Styptics. The principal astringents are catechu, kino, 
galls, oak bark, sulphate of iron, nitrate of silver, chloride of 
zinc, sulphate of copper, acetate of lead, perchloride of iron, etc. 

Monsel’s Solution. —The solution of perchloride of iron, 
known as above, is a valuable remedy to check bleeding in sud¬ 
den emergencies. It is peculiarly adapted, through the power 
of coagulating the blood, to cases of hemorrhage in deeply cut 
wounds, or on surfaces in which it is specially desirable to avoid 
irritation. The solution may be applied by means of a sponge, 
or small brush, to the bleeding surface, or vessel. It has also 
been used internally; and there is little doubt that it would 
prove efficacious as a styptic in hemorrhage from the stomach 
and bowels, and by injection into the rectum in bleeding from 
that part. It may be given in doses of 5 to 15 grains. The 
solution is so concentrated as it is kept by druggists, that 1 drop 
from a common vial is about equal to 1 grain. 


32 


MISCELLANEOUS MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 


Pancoast’s Styptic. —Take carbonate of potash 1 drachm, 
castile soap 2 drachms, alcohol 4 ounces; mix. This styptic 
has been found preferable to the persulphate of iron in many of 
the minor cases of hermorrhage, as it leaves the surface of the 
stump in a healthy condition, and does not produce the thick 
incrustation so often objectionable after the application of the 
iron. 

Styptic Collodion. —Made by uniting equal parts of col¬ 
lodion and chloride of iron. It is recommended for erysipelas. 

Styptic Paper. —A mode for carrying about chloride of 
iron as a ready styptic has been invented in Paris, which con¬ 
sists in dipping paper in a decoction of 1 pound benzoin and 1 
pound alum in 4 gallons water, which has been kept boiling for 
4 hours, with renewal and skimming. The paper is left in the 
filtered solution for some time until saturated; it is then dried, 
and painted over with a neutral solution of perchloride of iron ; 
this is then dried, folded, and wrapped in an impervious cover. 

New Styptic Collodion. —Collodion, 100 parts; car¬ 
bolic acid, 10 parts; pure tannin, 5 parts; benzoic acid, 5 
parts. Agitate until the mixture is complete. This prepara¬ 
tion, which has a brown color, leaves on evaporation a pellicle 
exactly similar to that of ordinary collodion. It adheres strongly 
to the tissues, and effects the instantaneous coagulation of blood 
and albumen. Tannin effects a consistent coagulation of the 
blood, whilst benzoic acid has a cicatrizing action on the tissues. 


MISCELLANEOUS MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 

Acacia Gum. —Used for irritations of the mucous mem¬ 
brane, for catarrh, etc. Also valuable in injections and as a 
medium for administering medicines in place of syrups, etc. 

Acetic Acid. —Diluted with water, is used as a cooling 
lotion ; also applied for ringworm, and in removing warts. 

Acetate of Potassa. —This is a valuable remedy in acute 
rheumatism, dropsy, and in all conditions requiring a free diu¬ 
retic action of the kidneys. The dose is from 20 to 30 grains 
3 times daily, and should in all cases be largely diluted with 
water, or infusion of marshmallow is to be preferred. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 33 

Tartaric Acid. —Used in combination with soda or potassa 
-as an effervescing draught in fevers; say 15 to 25 grains at a 
time. 

Aloes. —A common purgative, though drastic and irritating 
in its effects upon the bowels. Dose. —From J of a grain to 
•5 grains. Used also in dyspepsia and head affections. 

Alum. —In large doses alum is purgative, but is not used 
for this purpose at the present time. It is also used as an 
emetic for croup (see Emetics). Alum is a very effectual rem¬ 
edy for painters’ or lead colic, and for this purpose is given in 
doses from 15 to 25 grains repeated every 2 or 3 hours until 
relieved. It is also used as an injection for leucorrhea or 
whites, 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls powdered to a pint of water. Alum 
is also used as a gargle for sore throat, and as an astringent for 
elongated palate, to stop bleeding from the nose and uterus, and 
for other purposes where an astringent is required. Alum curd 
is also an excellent remedy for inflamed eyes (see index). 

Aqua Ammonia. —Or hartshorn, is a powerful stimulant 
by inhalation, in faintings, shortness of breath, hysteria, spasms, 
-etc. Taken internally also for those affections when diluted in 
water, and also for acidities of the stomach. Dose.—5 to 15 
•drops. 

Assafetida.— Given in doses of 5 to 15 grains for hysteria, 
flatulence, colic, etc. 

Borax. —Given as an emollient in intestinal irritation in chil¬ 
dren. Dose. —5 to 30 grains. Externally applied in thrush and 
cutaneous diseases; for this purpose should be dissolved in 8 
parts of honey or mucilage. 

Butter Oil. —Put 2 tablespoonfuls fresh unsalted butter 
in a dish and pour on boiling water; skim off the oil that 
rises, and administer in the same doses as castor oil. It acts the 
same as castor oil, without its unpleasantness, and is excellent 
for children. 

Capsicum (Cayenne Pepper). —Administered internally 
for dyspepsia, flatulence, etc. Dose.— 3 to 5 grains in pills. 
Largely diluted with water, it is used as a gargle for relaxed sore 
throat. 

Spirits of Camphor —Is a most valuable medicinal agent. 
It is used externally for sprains, swellings, pains, stitches, etc. 


34 


MISCELLANEOUS MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 


It is applied by pouring into the hand and rubbing on freely,, 
then wetting soft flannels and laying upon the parts, and cover¬ 
ing to prevent evaporation ; and re-wetting as fast as the parts 
become dry. Camphor spirits is probably as good an applica¬ 
tion as can be made to the female breast to dry up the secretion 
of milk, when it is desired to wean a child, or when, from any 
cause, it becomes necessary to lessen the flow of milk. 

Castor Oil. —Among the most common and useful of mild 
cathartics. Dose. —Any quantity up to 2 tablespoonfuls, 
according to the age and condition of the patient. An ounce of 
castor oil mixed in a pint of gruel may be used as an injection. 

Castor Oil Custard for Children. —Take an egg and a. 
proportionate amount of milk as for an ordinary custard. When 
beaten together, take as much as will make half to two-thirds of* 
a teacupful, and add sugar and as much castor oil as you wish 
to give, beat up well, and cook. The egg may be omitted if not* 
at hand. If the oil seems to have separated from the balance, 
it should be stirred after cooking. This preparation disguises 
the taste of the oil, and children like it. 

Simple Salve. —A bland application for dressing sores, 
blisters, abrasions of the skin, etc. Made by melting white wax,, 
and adding to olive oil, ounce for ounce, mixing while warm, 
and stirring till cold. 

Chalk. —Prepared chalk is used in acidities of the stomach 
and bowels, and as an emollient in an irritated state of the bow¬ 
els in diarrhoea. Dose. —10 to 15 grains. 

Charcoal. —Freshly burnt charcoal, reduced to powder and 
given in water, is in great repute. It immediately removes 
offensive odors from intestinal and renal discharges, and purifies 
the breath. It removes offensive exhalations from any part of 
the body, either given in water, or in the form of pills, made up 
in wheat flour, or gum mucilage. It removes pains about the 
right shoulder caused by obstructions of the liver. As an ant¬ 
acid, either alone, or combined with rhubarb, and carbonate of 
soda, it speedily and permanently removes heartburn. Charcoal 
is a powerful antiseptic, removing, or checking decay, and may 
be valuable in the incipient stages of consumption. Also used 
as a tooth powder, and as an ingredient in poultices for foul, 
ulcers. 


MISCELLANEOUS MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 


35 - 


Camomile Flowers— An excellent tonic; used in con¬ 
nection with other ingredients as a tonic bitters. In warm 
infusion, is emetic. Used also in dyspepsia, hysteria, flatulence, 
etc. Taken in powder, 30 to 40 grains, twice a day. 

Chloride of Lime— A powerful disinfectant. Used also* 
in scrofulous swellings and tumors, either in powder or in 
solution. 

Cinchonia —The bark of the red cinchonia is valuable^ 
as a tonic in malignant fevers and low states of the system? 
being milder in its action than quinine. Taken in doses of 
10 to 40 grains, in wine or wine and water. May also be made 
in decoction by boiling 10 drachms of the bruised bark in a pint 
of water for 10 minutes, in a closed vessel, and strain. Three to 6' 
tablespoonfuls (say a third to three-fourths of a wineglassfull), 
may be taken three times a day—sweetened if desired. 

Citrate of Magnesia. —Is a mild cathartic and operates in 
2 or 3 hours. It is prepared for use in form of a pleasant solu¬ 
tion, and can be purchased at drug stores in 12 ounce bottles. 

Cod Liver Oil. —Taken internally as a nutrient, especially 
to strengthen the system where there is a tendency to consump¬ 
tion. Taken in doses of a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful—may 
be flavored with oil of cloves to relieve its disagreeable taste. 

Cream of Tartar. —A teaspoonful of cream of tartar dis¬ 
solved in a part of a tumbler of water, forms an agreeable drink 
in fevers; a little sugar may be added. Taken in doses of a 
couple of teaspoonfuls it acts as a laxative; and in dropsical 
affections it is frequently taken in larger doses with advantage. 

Magnesia. —The common preparation of magnesia is chiefly 
employed as a mild laxative, especially for children and delicate 
persons. Dose.— From £ to 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls. Used also in 
less quantities to correct acidity of the stomach, for heartburn,, 
etc. 

Electro Magnetism. -Electro-magnetism, sometimes called 
galvanism and electricity, has within the past few years come to- 
be recognized as a valuable agent in the cure of disease, especially 
diseases of a nervous character. As such it is properly classified 
under the head of Medical Preparations. It should be applied 
in a gently flowing current for a considerable time, and not. by 
violent shocks. Persons unaccustomed to the use of electrical 


36 MISCELLANEOUS MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 

.apparatus sometimes regard it as a toy to be trifled with. This 
may do for the vulgar and careless in some catch-penny show, 
but when employed as a curative agent it should be handled not 
only with skill but with caution. The best way ordinarily to 
apply electro-magnetism is by means of the hand of a second 
person applied upon the body of the patient, each holding a 
pole of the battery, thus forming a connection by which the 
►current will pass. Some suggestions on this head will be found 
in the article on Electrical Baths on page 22. 

Oil of Erigeron. —The oil of erigeron, or Canada flea- 
bane, is a powerful astringent, and is used chiefly in hemorrhages. 
In bleeding from the lungs, nose, kidneys, or uterus, it may 
be given with advantage in doses of 5 to 10 drops in muci¬ 
lage or syrup, repeating the dose every 15 or 20 minutes in 
severe cases. For uterine hemorrhage it may be combined in 
the proportion of a drachm each oil of erigeron and oil of 
cinnamon, with 2 ounces of alcohol. 

Quinine. —Known in pharmacy as sulphate of quinine. Is 
one of the most valuable of therapeutic agents, especially in all 
affections that are periodic in character. In malarial districts it 
is indispensable in treating agues and intermittent fevers. It is 
tonic and stimulant in low states of the system from any cause, 
and a valuable remedy in neuralgia. May be taken in any quantity 
up to 20 grains, according to the condition of the person and the 
nature of the case. A free use of quinine should be accompanied 
with laxitive or cathartic medicines. 

Salt. —Common salt is one of the most useful of medicinal 
agents. In chemistry and in medical nomenclature it is called 
ehloride of sodium and muriate of soda. In small doses it is 
tonic and alterative, and is useful in all chronic diseases charac¬ 
terized by paleness of the tongue with a white fur upon it. It is 
also an anthelmintic, or preventive of worms. In teaspoonful 
doses, taken dry, it checks bleeding of the lungs; and used 
moderately it promotes digestion, removes strumous or scrofu¬ 
lous diseases, cures some forms of dyspepsia, and gives tone to 
the digestive organs of weakly children. The dose of salt, as 
an alterative and tonic, is from 10 to 60 grains. Salt, as else¬ 
where stated, is also an efficient emetic. A solution of salt is 
useful as a fomentation in bruises or sprains, as a tonic and 
excitant application in depraved conditions of the system, as a 


apothecaries’ weights and measures. 37 

lotion in certain diseases of the eye, and as a stimulating ingre¬ 
dient in injections. 

Bicarbonate of Soda. —A white alkaline powder, entirely 
soluble in water; employed to correct acidity of the stomach. 
Dose.— 5 to 30 grains, dissolved in water. Is also an antidote 
to acid poisons, as sulphuric, nitric, oxalic, etc. 

Wine of Iron —Made by placing an ounce of clean iron wire 
or tacks in a quart of sherry wine, and digest for 30 days. Used 
to give tone to the stomach and blood, as other preparations of 
iron. 

To Dissolve Quinine —Sulphate of quinine when forming 
a part of a fluid mixture, must be dissolved in sulphuric acid 
before compounding with the other ingredients. In most of the 
fluid receipts which contain quinine, a small quantity of the 
acid is prescribed solely for this purpose; it should be added to 
the quinine drop by drop, and only sufficient used to make a 
perfect solution. 

To Disguise the Taste of Medicines. —For castor oil, 
beat it up with the white of an egg, until both are thoroughly 
mixed; for epsom salts, add a little peppermint water; for 
aloes, add a solution of extract of liquorice; Peruvian bark, 
take in milk ; senna, flavor with cloves ; cod liver oil, an ounce 
of table salt added to each bottle is said to be good. 

Bandages, How to Apply. —To bandage a limb, take a 
piece of stout cotton cloth and make it into a continuous strip 
about 2 to 3 inches wide ; in sewing the ends together, simply 
lap them, so as not to leave a ridge seam. The bandage 
should be wound into a compact roll ready for use. A tight 
bandage necessarily obstructs the circulation, and in bandaging 
a limb, begin at the fingers or toes, and wind with an even 
pressure up to and above the part affected. The bandage of 
course passes spirally up the limb, and should lap half to two- 
thirds of its width, and on the uneven parts it must be “ turned 
upon itself ” every one, two or three rounds, in order to keep its 
proper direction. 

APOTHECARIES’ WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 

The common avoirdupois or commercial pound, is 16 ounces. 
Troy weight, by which druggists, apothecaries and jewelers are 
governed, is a different division of the metrical system. The* 


38 


MISCELLANEOUS MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 


troy pound contains 12 ounces, equal to 13 ounces 72£ grains 
avoirdupois. The troy ounce contains 1 ounce 42J grains 
avoirdupois. Apothecaries’ weight is a subdivision of the troy 
pound into ounces, drachms, scruples, and grains. It is used in 
compounding medicines, and is the officinal standard of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia. In the new British Pharmacopoeia the avoirdu¬ 
pois standard is used. 



APOTHECARIES WEIGHT. 


tt> (pound) 

3 (ounce) 

g (drachm) 

9 (scruple) 

grs (grains) 

1 

12 

96 

288 

5760 


1 

8 

24 

480 



1 

3 

60 




1 

20 


LIQUID MEASURE. 


One pint contains 

One ounce “ 

One wineglassful * ‘ 
One tablespoon “ 

One teaspoon “ 

Sixty drops make 


16 fluid ozs., (4 gills). 

8 “ drs., (8 teaspoons). 
2 “ ozs. 

about ^ a fluid ounce. 

“ 1 fluid drachm. 

“ 1 teaspoon. 


A common teacup holds about £ a pint or 2 gills; the smaller 
sized cups say 1-J- gills, or 6 ounces. In compounding lotions 
and mixing poultices, and in some cases in mixing the less 
powerful medicines, where a tablespoonful or a teacupful is pre¬ 
scribed, a little variation in the size of the measure will make 
no essential difference, but in administering the more powerful 
medicines the measures should always be exact. In measuring 
dry substances the measure should be rounded up slightly. 


DOSES IN MEDICINE PROPORTIONED TO AGE. 

The following table will show the relative proportion to be 
administered to persons of different ages, of any medicine. An 
adult person is one of say twenty-one years of age and over, 
and from that age to about sixty, persons are supposed to be in 
full physical vigor, and require the strongest medication. Now 
we will start with 1 as the unit, or as the proportion of all med¬ 
icines to be given to an adult; no matter whether it be 1 drachm, 
1 tablespoonful, 1 ounce, or any other quantity, the relative dose 
for persons of lesser ages should be as shown in the table, 
namely: 


ALTERATIVES. 


39 


Dose for an adult over 21 years.1. 

“ for a person between 14 and 21 years. 

“ “ “ “ 7 “ 14 “ . .. 

“ “ “ (* 4 it rj tf ^ 

“ “ “ 4 years old. 

“ “ “ 3 “ “ 1_6. 

k tt t. 2 ft “ ^ 

“ “ “ i “ “..!....!!..!!...!ili2. 

“ “ “ 6 months “ .1-16. 


For females, for persons of weakly or delicate constitutions, 
for those of the sanguine temperament, and for persons past the 
age of vigor, doses should be regulated accordingly. 

When not otherwise stated, the doses prescribed in this work 
are intended for adults; by referring to the above table the dose 
for a child or other person can be easily estimated. 


THERAPEUTIC ACTION OF MEDICINES. 

It is no difficult matter to compile from the books any num¬ 
ber of medical formulas, but for practical purposes their value 
would be greatly diminished because of a want of knowledge on 
the part of the mass of the people of the action or effect that 
they were designed to have. As a guide in this connection, the 
following brief digest of the therapeutic properties and action 
of the classes of medicines most generally used, has been 
prepared, avoiding the use of technical or scientific med¬ 
ical terms, so that the text will be readily understood by non¬ 
professional persons. 


ALTERATIVES. 

The term “ alterative,” as used medicinally, means a prepara¬ 
tion that will change or alter, from a morbid to a normal action, 
the habit of some function of the body Alteratives are a mild 
form of medication, and are thus called from that fact, as every 
medicine is in some sense an alterative. Neither the profession 
nor the materia medica assumes to explain the method of opera¬ 
tion of alteratives, whose action is unattended with the outward 
evidences of vomiting, purging, etc. 

Compound Fluid Extract of Stillingia. —The com- 
















40 


THERAPEUTIC ACTION OF MEDICINES. 


pound fluid extract of stillingia, as kept on sale by druggists, is- 
compounded of stillingia (queen’s delight), turkey-corn, poke 
root, blue flag, mandrake, prickly ash, and cardamon seeds. It 
is one of the most effective of blood purifiers, and its curative 
properties have been tested both in scrofula and the various stages 
of syphillis. The extract is sold in pound bottles, and it is well 
to add to each bottle \ ounce iodide of potassium. Dose.—A 
teaspoonful 3 times a day. 

Alterative Pills. —An excellent pill for cutaneous erup¬ 
tions (skin diseases), scrofula, syphillis, bilious and liver com¬ 
plaints, diseased joints, carbuncles, boils, etc., is made as follows: 

]$. Lobelia Seed, ground. 3 drachms. 

Mandrake, ground. 3 drachms. 

Blood Root, ground.3 drachms. 

Blue Flag, ground. 3 drachms. 

Gum Guiacum. 3 drachms. 

Cayenne Pepper. 1 drachm. 


Extract Dandelion. 
Oil of Peppermint 


6 drachms. 
4 drops. 


Simple Syrup to form a mass. 

Mix and make into 3 grain pills. Dose 2 pills 2 or 3 times a day. 

Iodide of Potassium. —This remedy, in doses of 2 to 4 
grains, 4 times a day, improves the appetite and digestion, and 
is a specific antidote to lead poison. For more virulent com¬ 
plaints, as scrofula, syphillis, diseases of the skin, etc., it may 
be taken in doses of 10 to 20 grains, in solution with water or 
combined with alterative syrups. 

Syrup of Iodide of Iron. —A teaspoonful 3 to 4 times a 
day is good both as an alterative and tonic, especially for delicate 
and feeble persons. 

Rhubarb Cordial. —Place in a tin dish: 

B. Pulv. Rhubarb. 2 teaspoonfuls. 

Soda.2 teaspoonfuls. 

White Sugar.2 teacups. 

Water. 1 teacup. 

Place over the fire, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the whole well 
heated; remove from the fire and add half a teaspoonful essence of lemon. 
For children, a teaspoonful 3 or 4 times a day, and for adults a tablespoon¬ 
ful. An excellent mild alterative. 

For the Blood. —A half ounce sulphate of manganese mixed 














CATHARTICS. 41 

with a pint of water, taken a wineglassful 3 times a day, is an 
excellent blood maker and tonic. 

Dandelion and Mandrake Alterative. —Take 6 ounces 
fluid extract dandelion and 2 ounces fluid extract of mandrake, 
and place together in a bottle. Good for derangement of the 
liver and tendency to jaundice. Take a teaspoonful 2 to 3 times 
a day, according as the bowels are acted upon. 

CATHARTICS. 

Cathartics are a means for cleansing the system through the 
bowels, which some would call “ physic.” The two chief organs 
for throwing off effete matter from the system are the skin and 
the bowels. The effete matter thrown off by the skin is supplied 
from the blood, and it is thrown off with little or no thought on 
the part of the person that such an operation is going forward. 
The effete matter passed off from the bowels is composed of that 
portion of the food eaten that cannot be assimilated and used a& 
nourishment. It is refuse, analogous to the ashes that remain 
after the coal or wood has given out its heat and light. If this; 
refuse is not passed off naturally—if it is retained in the system 
longer than it should be—it generates gasses that go into the; 
circulation and vitiate the whole system, occasioning a long list, 
of bad symptoms, as inertia, headache, irritability, etc. The- 
excretory organs form the natural drainage of the body, and if 
they are obstructed the whole system suffers. Imagine a city 
with its atmosphere vitiated by a defective drainage, and imagine 
a person also with the entire system poisoned and vitiated by the 
same cause. It is enough to make a “mean man” out of an 
ordinarily good man. Obstructions of the skin are frequently 
the cause of. obstructions of the bowels, and this is the reason 
for speaking of the two in connection. By keeping up a healthy 
action of the skin, and especially by avoiding what are called 
“ colds,” which are only the results of obstructions of the skin 
by a sudden closing of the pores through a change of tempera¬ 
ture, bowel difficulties will be many times avoided. The best 
security against bowel derangements is regular evacuations, 
regular meals, care not to overload the stomach or to surfeit with 
rich, indigestible food, or too great a proportion of animal food. 
Breakfast made chiefly from oatmeal is highly favorable to reg¬ 
ular action of the bowels. Lunching between meals is deleten- 

3 


42 


THERAPEUTIC ACTION OF MEDICINES. 


ous and mischievous. Any woman who makes bread knows that 
to add flour during the process of rising will cause the dough to 
“ fall.” The action of food in the stomach is similar to the ris¬ 
ing or fermentation of flour in dough in preparation for baking. 
Every addition to it causes it to “fall,” and the result is, 
souring and dyspepsia. As the bowels, from being so important 
a function of the animal economy, and from their intimate con¬ 
nection with other functions, are the most liable to derangement, 
so are they to an equal degree the great medium of relief, and 
for this purpose medical therapeutics prescribe cathartics. 

Recipes for internal cathartic preparations will be found 
under the head of “Medical Recipes.” 

Injections.—In many cases the treatment by injection (ene- 
mata) is employed to facilitate the action of cathartics, or when 
the condition of the patient indicates that mode of treatment as 
preferable. A weak soap-suds may be used, or a tablespoonful 
of molasses in a pint of water, or water alone will sometimes be 
found sufficient. The solution should always be warm enough 
to feel warm to the touch. The best appliance to use is the 
modern rubber pump syringe, which should be kept by the 
female head of every family in her private drawer. Common 
sense of course will suggest care in using the syringe, so as not 
to injure the parts. The injection should be retained for some 
minutes, which an adult patient, if reasonably strong, will do by 
muscular action. Otherwise it should be secured by means of a 
towel or napkin by an attendant. If the fluid is retained, or if 
it passes away without causing an action of the bowels, the 
operation should be repeated in a reasonable time. 

Soap Cone. —All the results of an injection may in most 
cases be secured by passing into the rectum a bit of common 
hard soap, cone-shaped, so as to pass easily, half a finger in 
length. This, by its convenience, is especially adapted to 
children. 

Purgative Injection.— Take 1 pint warm water, add suf¬ 
ficient castile soap to form a thick soap-suds ; to this add 2 tea¬ 
cups molasses, and 4 tablespoonfuls of castor oil; briskly stir all 
together and throw all into the bowels, retaining the mixture as 
long as possible. 

Soothing Injection.— For all general purposes, take sweet 
milk 1£ pints, molasses and lard 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls, salt and 


EMETICS. 


43 


■saleratus each J teaspoonful; dissolve and make thoroughly 
warm, introduce in proper amounts, and retain as long as may 
be. In diarrhoea this may have teaspoonful of laudanum added 
to each injection, and used 3 or 4 times daily. If no milk is at 
hand, slippery elm, mucilage, or any of the other articles named, 
according to the necessities of the case, may be used in place of 
the milk. 

Cathartic Injection. —Same as above, substituting castor 
■oil, 1 to 2 ounces, for the lard. 

EMETICS. 

Emetics are taken to produce vomiting, and thus relieve the 
stomach from what may cause injury, as poisons and indigestible 
or undigested food. They are also prescribed as a means of 
equalizing the circulation through muscular and nervous relaxa¬ 
tion. For the first two objects they may be employed by any 
person in extremity; for the last named object they are seldom 
used except on prescription of a physician. 

Mustard. —A teaspoonful of ground mustard stirred into a 
tumbler of warm water, and swallowed at a draught, repeated 
if its effect does not appear in a few minutes, is an effective 
emetic, and readily obtainable in emergencies, as poisons, etc. 

Warm Water—Salt and Water. —Tepid water, drank 
slowly, in as great quantity as the stomach will take—from a 
pint to 2 quarts—will act as an emetic, through simple muscular 
rebellion of the stomach from engorgement. A teaspoonful of 
salt dissolved in a tumbler of warm water, repeated as in case 
of the mustard, produces an emetic action. 

Ipecac.—15 to 20 grains of powdered ipecac, repeated every 
15 or 20 minutes, is a certain emetic. It may be taken in warm 
water, ginger tea, or rice water, and some liquid should be taken 
freely with it or in connection with it, as with all emetics. The 
action of emetics is facilitated by passing the finger into the 
throat. 

Emetic Injection. —In cases where the stomach will not 
allow the use of an emetic by the mouth, powdered ipecacuanha, 
2 drachms in warm water, 1 pint for an adult, may be given as 
an injection. It will work thoroughly, and kindly, as an emetic. 


44 THEBAPEUTIC ACTION OF MEDICINES. 

Eclectic Emetic Powder.— Powder and mix well the fol¬ 
lowing: 


Ipecacuanha. 2 ounces. 

Lobelia. 2 ounces * 

Blood Root. 1 ounce. 


Dose i teaspoonful every 20 minutes till vomiting ensues. 

Emetics for Children. —Another case in which the admin¬ 
istration of an emetic as a domestic remedy becomes necessary, 
is in croup, rattles, etc., in children. A teaspoonful of powdered 
alum given in molasses or honey, repeated every 15 minutes until 
free vomiting results, is a remedy well known to mothers. 

EXPECTORANTS. 

Expectorants are used in dry coughs and colds, to cause the 
phlegm to he thrown off easily and readily. Most of the emetic 
preparations are expectorants when given in small doses. The 
principal vegetable expectorants are : Lobelia, ipecac, Spanish 
needles, liquorice, comfrey, sunflower seeds, cat-tail flag, slippery 
elm, flaxseed, elecampane, hoarhound, balm of Gilead buds, 
etc. Any of these may be given in warm infusion, in table¬ 
spoonful doses, sweetened, as often as required. The “ Compound 
Emetic,” (see page 28), is a valuable expectorant. 

Stillingia Compound —Is prepared as follows : 


I£. Oil of Lobelia... 1 drachm 

Oil of Stillingia.2 drachms.. 

Oil of Cajeput.2 drachms. 

Alcohol, 95 per cent. 2 ounces. 


For mucous and spasmodic croup, give one drop on a lump of sugar 
every 15 minutes, or at longer intervals as the symptoms may indicate, 
at the same time keeping a cloth moistened with the liquid on the throat, 
or apply by gentle bathing with the hand. In chronic bronchitis, laryn¬ 
gitis, and chronic coughs, give 1 to 2 drops on sugar every 3 or 4 hours. 

Cough Drops. —Take linseed and olive oil each 1 gill, 
molasses or honey £ pint, balsam of fir \ ounce, extract liquor¬ 
ice J ounce ; mix and simmer. Dose.— 10 to 20 drops 3 times 
a day. 

Cough Cordial. —Put in an earthen pitcher or jar 3 table¬ 
spoonfuls of flaxseed (unbruised), and pour on a quart of boiling 
water ; let stand near the fire for an hour, then add the juice of 
4 large lemons, 1 gill of pure honey, 1 large stick of liquorice 









DIURETICS. 


45 


broken into bits, 1 stick of rock candy pounded fine; stir often 
until the liquorice and candy are dissolved; strain through a 
fine sieve or linen cloth. It will be quite jelly-like, and some 
prefer it this way, but if too thick, add more boiling water. 
Drink cold (but warm if it is desired to induce perspiration), 
when there is a tendency to cough. 

Cough Mixture. —Take the whites of 6 fresh eggs and 
teacupful of fine white sugar, and beat together to a froth; 
add juice of 4 lemons, 3 tablespoonfuls pure honey, 60 drops 
laudanum, and beat all well together; bottle and cork tightly. 
Take a teaspoonful when the coughing comes on, shaking well 
before taking. 


DIURETICS. 

Diuretics are medicines that increase the action of the kid¬ 
neys. The kidneys secrete a considerable amount of solid mat¬ 
ter, which is passed with the urine, and in many cases will be 
found as a sediment in the vessel in the morning. If the volume 
of the urine, or the amount of the solids, is less than it should 
be, diuretic remedies are called for, applicable to one or the 
-other, as the case may be. Vegetable preparations usually 
increase the volume of the urine, but not the solid secretions. 
Again, the kidneys sometimes perform their office, but the urine 
is retained in the bladder. In other cases portions of the lime 
&nd phosphates in the urine remain in the bladder, and by pre¬ 
cipitation and solidification occasion gravel or stone in the 
bladder. 

Vegetable Diuretics. —The following preparations are 
•excellent for increasing the amount of urine secreted : 1. Water¬ 
melon or pumpkin seeds, say a couple of tablespoonfuls, bruised 
and steeped in a pint of water. 2. Marshmallow in infusion, 
1 ounce to a pint of boiling water, and drank when cool. 3. 
Mullein leaves or spearmint similarly prepared. Either of the 
above may be taken freely, increasing the amount of urine and 
relieving pain and irritation of the passages. 

Sweet Spirits of Nitre— May be taken in doses of J to a 
full teaspoonful for an adult, and for a child 10 to 12 drops, 
repeated every 1, 2 or 3 hours. It increases the amount of the 
fluid secretion, and slightly the solids, besides relieving irrita¬ 
tion. 


46 


THERAPEUTIC ACTION OF MEDICINES. 


Acetate of Potash and Cream of Tartar.— Dilute £ 

an ounce of acetate of potash in 4 ounces of water, and take a 
teaspoonful every 2 hours. For children of a year old 10 to 12- 
drops, increasing the amount according to age. This is designed 
more especially to increase the amount of the solid secretion. 
A preparation of cream of tartar may be made in the same way,, 
though it is not as good. 

One of the Best Diuretics. —A preparation that will cure 
nearly all diseases of the kidneys is prepared as follows : 


1^. Acetate of Potash. 1 ounce. 

Fluid Extract of Buchu. 4 ounces. 

Fluid Extract of Uva Ursi.3 ounces. 


Place together in a clean 8 ounce bottle; shake well, when it will be ready 
for use. Dose. —A teaspoonful 3 times daily immediately after meals. 

External Treatment. —A plaster applied to the back 
across the loins, so as to cover the kidneys, or flannel cloth 
folded 4 or 5 thicknesses and wrung out of hot water, will relieve- 
the dull, heavy pain sometimes felt in the region of the kidneys, 
and start the secretion when internal remedies fail. But note, 
that these remedies depend upon the one agent, namely, heat p 
and that this agent, when seasonably consulted and used, is- 
equally efficacious as a preventive. Few persons are aware of 
the importance of carefully dressing the back, or more properly, 
the loins. Especially in some styles of cutting men’s clothing, 
where the pants and vest meet in the back, this sensitive part is. 
left almost wholly unprotected. This part should be so dressed 
as never to feel the cold, and by protecting the feet also from 
cold and wet, very many kidney troubles will be avoided. 

Retention of Urine. —In adults, hot applications over the 
lower abdomen and urinary organs, or the hot sitz bath. For 
young infants who have not passed water, or do not pass it 
freely, hot applications as above. 

DIAPHORETICS. 

Diaphoretics are designed to increase the secretions of the 
skin. Reference is made under the head “ Cathartics 99 (p. 41), to^ 
the important functions performed by the skin. Dr. Coles, in 
his “ Philosophy of Health,” says: “The healthful condition 
and action of the skin is greatly essential to health. Bad air 
will have its influence. Miasmatic influences take advantage- 





DIAPHORETICS. 


47 


of the fact that the skin holds, in a great degree, the des¬ 
tiny of the body. There is great sympathy between the skin and 
the internal organs.” Where the skin is obstructed there follows 
derangement of the liver and kidneys, and the digestion is 
affected. The pores of the skin, so minute as to be ordinarily 
imperceptible, are in the aggregate supposed to supply about 
twenty-eight miles of drainage to the body. 

Precautions. —Sleeping apartments should be well ven¬ 
tilated and removed as far as possible from malarial influences. 
Especially in climates and at seasons when the bed clothing is 
thrown off, malarial poison is readily absorbed through the skin, 
and hence flannel clothing should be worn at night no less than 
during the day. Under all circumstances beds should be aired 
every day, and the best modern opinion is against the use of feather 
beds. Hair or cotton mattresses are preferable. The clothing that is 
worn during the day should be wholly replaced by night cloth¬ 
ing. Except in very dry climates, flannel should always be worn 
next the skin. Another precaution is in keeping the body clean 
by bathing, and another to avoid taking cold, by which the 
pores of the skin become obstructed by contraction. The sys¬ 
tem therefore may become diseased either by absorption of 
unhealthy emanations through the skin, or by closing the pores 
so as to prevent the effete matter from being thrown off. 

Remedial Agents. —These are both external and internal. 
The spirit vapor bath, and other means described under the head 
of Baths and Bathing (p. 17), and Hot Fomentations (p. 24), are 
among the external means. Warm infusions are given inter¬ 
nally. These means are used to produce a mild reaction or pro¬ 
fuse sweating, according to the urgency of the case. 

Local Applications. —The sitz or hip bath is recom¬ 
mended in diseases of the pelvic viscera and bowels. In dysen¬ 
tery and diarrhoea, and in painful and difficult menstruation, 
the warm sitz bath. In any case of local pain or inflammation, 
water, either cold or warm, applied by means of several thick¬ 
nesses of cloth, or flannel cloths heated and applied over the 
seat of the difficulty, will give relief. Warm water applications 
should be as hot as the patient can well bear, and should be 
renewed frequently. Cold water applications should be bound 
on and secured so as to prevent evaporation, until they bring 


4S THERAPEUTIC ACTION OF MEDICINES. 

the desired reaction. Sore throat is frequently relieved by the 
cold application to the throat on going to bed. 

Warm Infusions. —Infusions of pennyroyal, catnip, sage, 
ginger, and water-pepper or smart weed, may be taken on going 
to bed, and in many cases prove to be all that is desired, with¬ 
out other treatment. They may also be taken in connection 
with the foot bath treatment under the head of Baths (page 20). 
These herbs are so common, and the methods of their prepara¬ 
tion so well known, that no formula is required for their use. 
Tho Composition Powder (page 30), say a tablespoonful of the 
pc'V'oe: to a pint of water, may be used. Pleurisy root is also 
recommended, an ounce of the root in a pint of water, giving a 
wineglassful at a dose. The Diaphoretic Powder may also be 
taken as directed (page 30). 

Sage Tea to Produce Sweating. —Boil a small handful 

of sage leaves in \ pint of water for 3 minutes; strain and 
sweeten and drink warm. The decoction will act as a diapho¬ 
retic, producing profuse perspiration. 

ASTRINGENTS. 

Astringents are employed to check morbid discharges, as 
hemorrhage, diarrhoea and mucous secretions. Their action is 
mechanical, causing contraction of the tissues by which the 
excessive matter is secreted and discharged. 

Vegetable Infusions. —Blackberry root and the leaves of 
the red raspberry, steeped in the form of an infusion, are excel¬ 
lent remedies to check diarrhoea in children. The proportions 
will be governed by the good judgment of those using them. 
The decoction may be sweetened to make it palatable. Two 
tablespoonfuls of pulverized white oak bark (or an equivalent 
amount of the green bark) steeped in a half pint of water, may 
be given in doses of a tablespoonful every 1 or 2 hours, when 
cold, to check diarrhoea. An ounce of the pulverized root of 
crane’s-bill, similarly prepared, may be given in doses of •§• a 
wineglass full once in an hour or two. The preparations should 
be strained, when cold, and sweetened. 

Acids and Tinctures. —Tannic acid, in doses of 5 to 10 
grains, may be given in cases of diarrhoea and of hemorrhage from 
the stomach and bowels. The tincture of catechu also in doses 


STIMULANTS. 49 

of a teaspoonful once in an hour or two. They should be taken 
in a little sweetened water. 

STIMULANTS. 

In treating of stimulants it would be impossible to say just 
where the classification should begin ; or in other words, taking 
the whole catalogue of human foods and drinks, it would be 
impossible to specify what should be classed specially as stimu¬ 
lants, because everything taken into the stomach that is assimi¬ 
lated and goes into the circulation, thus helping to keep in 
;action the machinery of the body, is a stimulant. Animal food 
is more highly stimulating than vegetable food, and some kinds 
.of vegetables more so than others. But in the more general 
understanding of the term, stimulants that act through the 
medium of the stomach may be defined as alcoholic and fer¬ 
mented liquors, tea and coffee, and a given class of drugs that 
.act generally upon the whole system, and other drug prepara¬ 
tions that act upon and stimulate particular functions and pro¬ 
cesses. This relates only to stimulants administered and acting 
through the medium of the stomach. Other stimulants may 
act through the sense of smell, or in the form of some local 
application, as by a plaster or liniment. In general, therefore, 
.stimulants are medicines that produce a temporarily increased 
action of the vital forces of the whole system, or of one or more 
functions of the body. It is generally supposed that the reaction 
following the use of stimulants is equal to the temporarily 
increased action consequent upon their use; or, that as vital 
action may rise above a given line under the influence of stimu¬ 
lants, it will fall as far below the same line when the stimulating 
power is gone. This is not true in any considerable degree, nor 
perhaps in any degree so far as concerns the legitimate use of 
stimulants. Stimulants taken in excess, or when they are not 
needed, may have this effect—in so far strengthening the homoe¬ 
opathic position, that what will cure an existing disease will pro¬ 
duce the same disease where it does not exist. The liberal and 
habitual use of active stimulants must inevitably in the end 
impair the strength and fibre, so to speak, of the functions that 
have been abused, causing an increased and increasing demand 
to supply the waste, until, there not being enough left for the 
stimulant to act upon, the stimulant itself fails of further effect. 


50 


THERAPEUTIC ACTION OF MEDICINES. 


This condition is observed among habitual and immoderate users; 
of alcohol and opium, although the latter is more a narcotic than 
a stimulant. 

Alcohol. —Alcoholic and malt liquors are the most common 
stimulants in this country. In the cities and larger towns they 
are taken more or less during the day by men in active business, 
and in the evening by men of all classes. But their office as a 
stimulant in these cases is too often subordinated to social excess 
and dissipation. To those who are only occasional users of this 
class of stimulants, whisky is probably the safest liquor. A rea¬ 
sonably pure article of whisky may be had, if care be exercised as 
to where it is purchased. So other liquors and native wines may 
be had at some druggist’s, but adulteration is so easy and so 
common as to destroy confidence in the whole list of commercial 
liquors. There is no doubt as to the efficacy of alcohol to- 
quicken the circulation and restore nervous action in an exhausted 
condition of the system. It may be taken in any form that is 
most agreeable. A very good way is to take f of a wineglassful 
of whisky in a glass of milk, with a little sugar. The milk 
should be pure and fresh, and stirred briskly as the liquor is 
poured in, to prevent curdling. For persons in a weak state of 
health this may be taken with the addition of a fresh egg once 
or twice a day, until there is returning strength. Other liquors 
and wines of course may be used when they are preferred. Ale, 
porter and beer are in favor in cases requiring a continued use of 
stimulants of this kind. But this is the best advice that can be 
given on this head, namely, that where the necessity for a con¬ 
tinued use of stimulants arises from something connected with 
the local situation or the pursuit of the person, it is better, if 
practicable, to change the situation or the pursuit than to look 
to stimulants as a compensating force. 

Compound Life Drops. —Take % ounce each of oil of 
cajeput, oil of anise, oil of cloves and oil of peppermint, and 
mix with 2 ounces of alcohol. Oil of cajeput is a powerful dif¬ 
fusible stimulant, possessing antispasmodic and diaphoretic prop¬ 
erties, and is useful where we wish promptly to raise the energy 
of the vital powers, especially when, at the same time, any spas¬ 
modic movements are to be allayed. Combined as above, the 
preparation is one of the most efficient and valuable stimulants 
and antispasmodics. It may be successfully employed for tho= 


STIMULANTS. 


51 


relief of cramps in the stomach, colic, cholera morbus, etc. It 
has been very extensively used in the treatment of Asiatic chol¬ 
era, and probably no agent has proved more successful. For 
the milder class of symptoms, give 10 to 40 drops, according to 
the age of the patient, repeating every 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes, 
until the symptoms relax and reaction is established; for the 
severer symptoms, give a teaspoonful, and in the collapsed stages 
of Asiatic cholera the dose may be doubled or trebled, repeating 
in all cases as above until the reactionary effect appears. Should 
the country suffer another cholera visitation, this preparation 
should be in every family medicine chest. 

Capsicum. —Capsicum (cayenne pepper) is used as a stimu¬ 
lant both internally and externally. Taken internally it pro¬ 
duces a feeling of warmth in the stomach and bowels. Judi¬ 
ciously used, it is regarded with favor. In the dormant and 
sinking state that supervenes in fevers, more especially typhoid 
and typhus, it has been found, either alone or in combination 
with quinine, brandy, camphor, etc., to arouse action where 
other agents fail. It is also regarded as serviceable in cases of 
paralysis depending on torpor of the nervous system, in flatu¬ 
lency and indigestion, as a food condiment, and as a stimulant, 
to the digestive organs generally, being also a valuable aid to 
the action of cathartics. It is also employed in agues and inter- 
mittents, scarlatina, cholera, yellow fever, etc. Applied exter¬ 
nally it is one of the best of stimulants, especially in cases where 
a less severe treatment than blistering is required. It is indis¬ 
pensable also in many cases for gargles. Of powdered capsicum 
an average dose is 5 to 10 grains, which in cases of great sinking' 
or collapse may be increased to 20 or even 60 grains (a drachm). 

Prickly Ash. —Both the bark and berries of the prickly ash 
are valuable medicinal agents. The bark is stimulant, tonic, 
alterative and sialagogue, and has been efficacious in chronic 
rheumatism, syphillis, liver affections, colic, scrofula, and par¬ 
alysis of the tongue and mouth. The powdered bark, in doses 
of 10 to 30 grains, 3 times a day, will be found a valuable stimu¬ 
lant. Or of the fluid extract of the berries, 10 to 30 drops in 
sweetened water. 

Camphor. —Popularly, the word “camphor” means the 
common solution of gum camphor with alcohol. Camphor gum 
comes to us from China and Japan. The solution, or spirits of 


52 


THERAPEUTIC ACTION OF MEDICINES. 


.camphor, is made by adding camphor gum with alcohol in the 
proportion of 2 ounces of gum to a pint of spirits. There are 
many preparations of camphor, but it is only in the form here 
mentioned that it is considered in this connection. While cam¬ 
phor is a stimulant, it is regarded also as a narcotic, diapho¬ 
retic, antispasmodic, anodyne, expectorant, etc. It acts exclu¬ 
sively on the nervous system, producing an anodyne and exhila¬ 
rating effect upon it. Taken in large doses, its effects are bale¬ 
ful, as are those of other drugs. The ordinary preparation of 
camphor is taken internally, by inhalation, and by external appli¬ 
cation. For cramps in the stomach, colic and choleraic diarrhoea, 
take J a teaspoonful, diluting, if necessary, with water or milk. 
The most common form of using camphor is by inhalation, in 
cases of nervous depression, giddiness faintness, headache, etc., 
and the same symptoms are relieved by bathing the head, face 
and neck with it. It is also externally applied for sprains, 
bruises, frost-bites, etc. 


TONICS. 

Tonics are among the most valuable of therapeutic agents. 
The object in their use is to give tone to the system, whence the 
word “tonic ” is derived. Their immediate effect is to increase 
the appetite, improve digestion, and secure better nutrition, 
whence results increased strength and elastic vigor. Another 
class of tonics, of which iron stands pre-eminent, go directly to 
the circulation, and by strengthening the blood improve the tone 
of the whole system. And again it may be said that the blood 
is the agent in the animal economy to which all tonics are 
directed, the one class going directly to the blood by absorption, 
and the other enriching the blood by inducing an increased con¬ 
sumption and better digestion and assimilation of food. Paren¬ 
thetically it may be stated as a truism in hygiene, that disease 
cannot well exist in a body in which a pure and vigorous blood 
.stands sentry. Vegetable tonics are preferred, as indeed vege¬ 
table preparations of all kinds should be where they can be used 
with equal effect. 

Quinine. —The Sulphate of Quinine, so much used in medi¬ 
cal practice, a preparation from the Cinchona or Peruvian bark 
is one of the most common, as it is one of the most useful and 
valuable of tonics, although there is a prejudice existing against 


TONICS. 


53 


it from a vague and groundless supposition that its latent effects 
are deleterious. Quinine is one of the best known remedies in 
diseases of periodical recurrence, prominently ague and intermit¬ 
tent and chill fevers. And there is a large cluster of other ail¬ 
ments also that are immediately or remotely referable to the 
same cause that produces these diseases, namely, malarial poison 
in the blood. Among these symptoms may be mentioned “ sun- 
pain” or hemicrania, neuralgia, violent pains in the eyes, face, 
or any part of the body, and periodic epilepsy, diarrhoea and 
dysentery when observed in malarious districts—in short, all that 
extensive train of periodic affections known as “masked ague” 
or “ dumb ague.” When taken as a mere tonic, 6 to 10 grains 
of quinine per day, in equal portions immediately after 
meals, will be found to act with good effect. To relieve acute 
attacks, it may be taken in any quantity until the feeling of 
fulness in the head admonishes a suspension. Used freely an 
hour or so before the usual time for the paroxysms in ague and 
chill fever, the attack will be successfully avoided. It must not 
be taken during the period of fever. Before taking quinine in 
any considerable quantity, some cathartic should be prescribed to 
cause a moderate movement of the bowels. Quinine may be 
taken in any form that is most agreeable. Some people dread it 
because it is bitter, while others carry it in their pocket and 
swallow it dry without wincing. It may be mixed in sauce, 
syrup or sugar, or taken in ale, beer, whisky or other liquor. 

Hydrastis. —Preparations of the root of this plant, known 
as yellow root, golden seal, etc., afford a very mild, certain and 
permanent tonic, especially in view of its beneficial results in 
stomach irritation, dyspepsia, etc. A good tonic bitter is 
made by putting 1 ounce of finely pulverized hydrastis in 4 
ounces of whisky and 12 of water. A little simple syrup may 
be added, or burnt sugar, and 1 ounce fluid extract of wild 
cherry may make it more agreeable to the taste. Dose. A 
tablespoonful 3 times a day, immediately after meals. In acid 
indigestion, when attended with a torpid condition of the bowels, 
a tablespoonful each of calcined magnesia and prepared charcoal 
may be added. 

Collinsonia. —This plant is most generally known as 
rich-weed. Although a tonic, it ranks primarily as a diuretic, 
and also possesses other curative properties. It will be found 


.54 


THERAPEUTIC ACTION OF MEDICINES. 


valuable as a tonic where there is a torpid action of the urinary 
organs. A good preparation is : 


1$. FI. Ex. of Collinsonia. 2 ounces. 

Tincture of Phosphorus. 2 drachms. 

Fluid Extract of Leptandria. 1 ounce. 

Citrate of Iron.30 grains. 

Simple Syrup.3 ounces. 


Mix. Dose.—A teaspoonful 3 times a day after meals. 

Other Vegetable Tonics. —Dogwood, wild cherry and 
poplar, possess valuable tonic properties, and excellent prepara¬ 
tions may be made of either or of all of them in combination. 
The fluid extracts may be had of any druggist, and persons liv¬ 
ing in sections where the barks can be readily gathered may 
easily make a syrup or tincture that they can use with great 
advantage. 

Iron. —The iron contained in the blood of a healthy adult 
person is sufficient to make a small horse shoe. It is this ele¬ 
ment in the blood that gives energy of purpose and force of 
movement to the person. When there is a deficiency of iron in 
the blood the physical energies are depressed, the muscular 
action limp and halting, and the movements timid and irreso¬ 
lute. The carbonate of iron may be combined with California 
port or Catawba wine in the proportion of 2 drachms of the car¬ 
bonate to 1 pint of wine, where other medication is not desired. 
Caution should be used not to combine preparations of iron with 
vegetable astringents, as the two are chemically incompatible. 

NARCOTICS. 

This class of remedies is used to relieve pain and induce sleep. 
Narcotics do not remove or cure the causes of pain, but simply 
control the effects for the time being. Administered by an 
intelligent physician, they are among the most beneficent of 
therapeutic agents. Opium holds the imperial place in the fam¬ 
ily of narcotics. But it should never be administered by unskill¬ 
ful persons, nor to children at all unless prescribed by a com¬ 
petent physician. Opium is the active principle in the whole 
range of cordials and soothing syrups that are so freely given by 
mothers to their children, and from which temporary relief is 
obtained, but in thousands of cases at the expense of permanent 
injury if not death to the little ones. “ The opium habit ” also 







SEDATIVES. 


55 


grows upon adults from a too free use of opium to relieve trifling 
pains or to quicken a lethargic action of the nervous or mental 
forces. Better to suffer little than suffer much by contracting 
a habit that cannot be overcome. 

Infant Cordial. —For mothers who find it necessary to resort 
to medical aid to induce sleep or relieve pain in their children, 
the following preparation will be found not only effective but 
entirely harmless, and can be put up by any druggist: 


1^. Oil of Anise. 20 drops. 

Oil Peppermint. 15 drops. 

Chloroform. 40 drops. 

Spirits of Wine. 4 drachms. 

Simple Syrup. 12 drachms. 


Mix. Dose. —Half a teaspoonful every £ hour until relief is ob¬ 
tained. Warm applications to the limbs or back, or a warm bath and a 
gentle rubbing or manipulation, frequently have the desired effect, without 
medicines. 


SEDATIVES. 

Sedatives are employed to reduce or allay an abnormal action 
of the heart and blood. This may arise from two causes, namely, 
temporary excitements or fever. It is in the latter class of cases 
chiefly that sedatives are resorted to. Persons who are subject 
to tremors and nervous agitation from slight causes should 
.seek relief both by avoiding, as far as possible, occasions cal¬ 
culated to produce agitation, and by a regimen or course of diet 
and living that will lessen the liability to it. All sedatives act 
powerfully and quickly, and hence the need of caution in their 
use, not to administer too frequently or too much, and not 
to administer them by mistake for some other medicine, and this 
caution should be observed in dealing out all medicines in 
domestic practice. Everything should be plainly marked and 
labeled. Slight fevers are many times checked by the timely use 
of sedatives, and hence the importance of having some prepara¬ 
tion at hand that can be used where the case does not seem to 
necessitate calling a physician. However, sedatives as a rule 
should only be used under the advice and direction of a physi¬ 
cian, from their liability to check or suspend the action of the 
heart, occasioning fatal results. For this reason only one or two 
prescriptions are given under this head, which, if administered 
with the care indicated, may be safely used. 







56 


THERAPEUTIC ACTION OF MEDICINES. 


Aconite. —Fluid extract of aconite root is a sedative, and if 
taken in large quantity is an irritant poison. A safe and certain 
way of administering is to put in a glass or teacup a given 
number of teaspoonfuls of water, 10 or more, and add one drop 
of the aconite for each teaspoonful. A teaspoonful of the mix¬ 
ture may be given at a time to a person of any age, and for an 
adult should be repeated say once an hour, and for a child once 
in two hours, until perspiration is induced. Aconite acts as a 
diaphoretic, and is largely prescribed in fevers to produce mois¬ 
ture of the surface and sweating. 

Veratrum Viride. —Fluid extract of veratrum viride may be 
used after the same manner as the aconite, and it is sometimes 
well to alternate the two, as the veratrum, in addition to its 
sedative properties, gives moisture to the skin and aids the- 
secretions of the kidneys. Of the efficacy of this drug, Dr. Nor¬ 
wood, of South Carolina, in an article in the Southern Medical 
and Surgical Journal, January, 1853, speaks of it as an altera¬ 
tive, as an expectorant, as a diaphoretic, exciting to perspiration, 
softness and moisture of the surface, as a nervine and an emetic, 
aside from its sedative properties. 

Tobacco. —Tobacco is a powerful sedative, and in cases of 
croup, where it is desirable to produce relaxation of the system 
by vomiting, a cloth wet in a decoction of tobacco and laid over 
the stomach will usually be found, effective, but this application 
must be used with caution, because tobacco is prostrating and 
paralyzing in its effect, and if too freely applied may prove fatal. 

OTHER THERAPEUTIC AGENTS. 

Other medicinal agents, with their therapeutic action, but 
requiring less elaborate description and explanation than the 
foregoing, are classified as follows : 

Absorbents —Are medicines which destroy acidities in the 
stomach and bowels, such as magnesia, prepared chalk, etc. 

Analeptics —Are medicines that restore the strength which 
has been lost by sickness, such as gentian, bark, etc. 

Anodynes —Are medicines which relieve pain, and they are 
divided into three kinds : sedatives , hypnotics, and narcotics; 
camphor is anodyne as well as narcotic. 


OTHER THERAPEUTIC AGENTS.* 57 

Antacids —Are medicines which destroy acidity, such as 
lime, magnesia, soda, etc. 

Antalkalies —Are medicines given to neutralize alkalies in 
the system, such as citric, nitric, or sulphuric acids, etc. 

Anthelmintics —Are medicines used to expel and destroy 
worms from the stomach and intestines, such as turpentine, cow- 
hage, male fern, santonine, etc. 

Antibilious —Are medicines which are useful in bilious 
affections, such as podophyllin leptandrin, jalap, etc. 

Antirheumatics —Are medicines used for the cure of rheu¬ 
matism, such as colchicum, iodide of potash, etc. 

Antiscorbutics —Are remedies for scurvy, such as citric 
acid, etc. 

Antiseptics —Are substances used to correct putrefaction, 
such as bark, camphor, charcoal, vinegar, and creosote. 

Antispasmodics —Are medicines which possess the power 
of overcoming spasms of the muscles, or allaying severe pain 
from any cause unconnected with inflammation, such as valerian,, 
ammonia, opium, and camphor. 

Aperients —Are medicines which move the bowels gently* 
such as rhubarb, manna, magnesia, cream of tartar, etc. 

Aromatics —Are cordial, spicy, and agreeably flavored med¬ 
icines, such as cardamoms, cinnamon, etc. 

Balsamics —Are medicines of a soothing kind, such as tolu, 
Peruvian balsam, etc. 

Carminatives —Are medicines which allay pain in the 
stomach and bowels, and expel flatulence, such as anise-seed 
water, etc. 

Cordials —Are exhilarating and warming medicines, such as : 
aromatic confection, etc. 

Corroborants —Are medicines and food which increase the 
strength, such as iron, gentian, meat, and wine. 

Demulcents —Correct acrimony, diminish irritation, and 
soften parts by covering their surfaces with a mild and viscid 
matter, such as linseed tea, gum mucilage, honey, and marsh¬ 
mallow. 


4 


58 


THERAPEUTIC ACTION OF MEDICINES. 


Deobstruents —Are medicines which remove obstructions, 
such as iodide of potash, etc. 

Detergents —Clean the surfaces over which they pass, such 
as soap, etc. 

Digestives —Are remedies applied to ulcers or wounds, to 
promote the formation of matter, such as resin ointments, warm 
poultices, etc. 

Discutients —Possess the power of repelling or resolving 
tumors, such as galbanum, potash, and iodine. 

Drastics —Are violent purgatives, such as gamboge, etc. 

Emollients —Are remedies used externally to soften the parts 
they are applied to, such as spermaceti, palm oil, etc. 

Epispastics —Are medicines which blister or cause effusion 
or serum under the cuticle, such as Spanish flies, Burgundy 
pitch, resin, and galbanum. 

Errhines —Are medicines which produce sneezing, such as 
tobacco, etc. 

Escharotics —Are medicines which corrode or destroy the 
vitality of the part to which they are applied, such as nitrate 
of silver, caustics, etc. 

Febrifuges —Are remedies used in fevers, such as bark, 
quinine, mineral acids, arsenic. 

Hydragogues —Are medicines which have the effect of 
removing the fluid of dropsy, by producing watery evacuations, 
such as gamboge, jalap, eleterian, etc. 

Hypnotics —Are medicines that relieve pain by procuring 
sleep, such as hops, henbane, morphia, poppy. 

Laxatives —Are medicines which cause the bowels to act 
rather more than natural, such as manna, cream of tartar, etc. 

Nutrients —Are remedies that nourish the body, such as 
sugar, sago, etc. 

Prophylactics —Are remedies employed to prevent the 
attack of any particular disease, such as quinine, etc. 

Refrigerants —Are medicines which suppress an unusual 
heat of the body, such as woodkorrel, tamarind, etc. 

Rubefacients —Are medicaments which cause redness of the 
skin, such as mustard, etc. 










The Grim Mower with his Miasmatic Scythe. 
















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































PAET I—DIVISION II. 

DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 


MIASMATIC DISEASES. 

There is a long list of diseases properly classified under this 
head, the more common of which are Intermittent Fever or 
Fever and Ague, Remittent or Bilious Fever, Typhoid and Con¬ 
gestive Fevers, etc. 

The principal causes that produce fevers are exposure to cold, 
sudden changes of temperature, damp atmosphere, great heat, 
noxious exhalations from decomposing animal and vegetable mat¬ 
ter, unhealthy emanations from diseased persons, etc. The first 
symptoms of all fevers are usually languor and lassitude, inca¬ 
pacity for mental or bodily exertion, sometimes a dull headache, 
unsound sleep, unpleasant dreams, aching and stretching; the mus¬ 
cles feel as if fatigued, and sometimes sore, as if they had been 
bruised, with frequently an aching sensation in the joints and 
limbs, slight pains in the back, and chilliness. A free use of 
the spirit vapor bath, with tonics and mild cathartics, upon the 
'Occurrence of these symptoms, may avert a severe and protracted 
■course of fever. 


FEVER AND AGUE. 

Also known by the names of intermittent fever, chills, chill 
and fever, etc. It is characterized by several distinct paroxysms 
of fever, which recur at regular periods, having a perfect inter¬ 
mission between each. 

This disease generally makes its appearance in the fall season 
-of the year; and people living near rivers, stagnant ponds and 

59 



60 


MIASMATIC DISEASES. 


marshes, are more than others subject to its ravages. There are* 
three stages of this disease, viz.: Cold, Hot, and Sweating, 
which run their course in this order of succession, generally in 
the space of from 3 to 8 hours. 

Symptoms.— The cold stage commences with yawning,, 
stretching, languor, and a sense of debility and an aversion to 
food and exercise. The patient experiences sensations of chilli¬ 
ness, the nails become purple, the lips blue, the countenance 
assumes a shriveled appearance, and the teeth chatter, sometimes 
loudly. Finally severe chills, with universal shivering and shak¬ 
ing come on ; and the bedstead is often shaken with the violence 
of the involuntary movements. The cold stage varies as to dura¬ 
tion—as a rule it may be stated at about 1 hour. After a longer 
or shorter time, the chills abate and the 

Hot Stage commences. There is a gradual return of warmth, 
and the chills for a time alternate with flushes of heat; gradu¬ 
ally the whole body becomes hot, the cheeks are flushed, the eyes, 
sparkle, the skin is distended with blood, and the patient is 1 , 
affected with a universal burning heat. The pulse becomes, 
quick, hard and strong, respiration hurried, pain in the head, 
with throbbing of the temples, and in many cases the mind wan¬ 
ders in delirium. 

Sweating- Stage. —Perspiration generally appears first upon 
the face, and gradually spreads over the surface ; the skin slowly 
recovers its natural condition, becoming soft and cool; a pro¬ 
fuse sweat extends over the whole body, the headache disappears, 
and the patient falls into a calm sleep, from which he awakes, 
free from fever. 

Treatment. —Just before the chill comes on, the patient 
should be placed in bed and warmly covered, and hot bricks or 
bottles of hot water placed to the feet, sides, thighs and armpits, 
using care not to injure the skin by too great heat. Hot drinks 
may be given, such as hot lemonade, toast water, boneset and 
catnip teas. Sometimes it will prove beneficial to give an emetic 
just before the chill is expected. Ipecac, lobelia or mustard may 
be used for this purpose. The emetic often breaks up the chill 
but should it be deemed injudicious from any cause to adminis¬ 
ter an emetic, an active cathartic as follows may be given with, 
great advantage : 


FEVER AND AGUE. 


61 


1$. Alexandrine Senna. 4 drachms. 

J a ^ a P. 2 drachms. 

Ginger.30 grains. 


Pulverize separately, then mix, and put a teaspoonful into a gill of hot 
water, and let stand until cool, and add a teaspoonful of sugar, when the 
whole should be drank at a single dose about 1 hour before the chill comes 
on. It should move the bowels within an hour. 

During the Hot Stage, the patient should be allowed cold 
•drinks, such as iced lemonade, cold water, etc. Tincture of 
aconite 2 drops in 1 teaspoonful of water may be given every 
hour to produce sweating and allay the fever. When there is 
pain in the stomach or bowels, with nausea or vomiting, mus¬ 
tard plasters should be applied over the part where the pain is. 
Pain in the head with a full and rapid pulse may be relieved by 
.applying a mustard poultice to the soles of the feet. 

The Sweating Stage requires but little treatment. Keep 
the patient covered, being careful not to expose to cold so as to 
prematurely check the perspiration. 

During the Intermission, and after the three stages above 
•described have passed, is the period for effective treatment. The 
•course to be pursued is happily as simple as it is effectual. First, 
the bowels should be thoroughly evacuated; and for this pur¬ 
pose podophyllin is preferable to all other remedies. It not 
only evacuates the bowels but unloads the congested liver. The 
following powders can be prepared by any druggist: 


Podophyllin. 10 grains. 

Leptandrin . 20 grains. 

Capsicum. 5 grains. 


Mix, and make into 10 powders. Take 1 powder 3 times each day, until 
a thorough and free cathartic effect is produced. As soon as possible after 
the bowels have been evacuated, commence with the following: 


Quinihe Sulph. .20 grains. 

Capsicum, powdered. 5 grains. 


Mix, and make into 5 powders. Dose.— For an adult, 1 powder every 
■2 hours, commencing soon after the sweating stage has passed, so as to take 
if possible the 5 powders before the time for the chill to come on. As a rule 
this will break the chill. If it should not, procure the same number of 
powders and repeat the same after the sweating stage. 

The foregoing treatment, when followed, has never failed 
to break the chill. Delicate women and children should take 
.smaller doses. Instead of 5 powders, make into 10 powders, and 










MIASMATIC DISEASES. 


62 


follow the above directions, taking 5 powders during the inter¬ 


mission. 

After the chill is broken it is very liable to return, especially 
on the 7th, 14th and 21st days. To prevent this the patient 
should procure at any drug store the following Tonic Bitters : 




Red Cinchona Bark, powdered.1 ounce. 

Podophyllum, powdered.4 drachms. 

Orange Peel, bruised.4 drachms. 

Cloves, bruised.2 drachms. 

Brandy, best French. 1 P int - 

Mix all together and let stand a few days, shaking often. Dose.— 
One or two teaspoonfuls * hour before eating. The above tonic bitters are: 
valuable as a preventive of miasmatic disease, and should be used daily by 
all persons in miasmatic districts predisposed to attacks. 


Dumb Ague. —Sometimes called “sun-pain,” “masked 
ague,” etc. It occurs at regular intervals, with slight chills 
and a severe pain in one side of the head, or extending over the 
whole of it, with an excited condition of the arteries of the neck, 
depression of spirits, etc. Sometimes the pain will be in the- 
face, in one or more of the teeth, in the chest, stomach, uterus, or 
other part. It depends upon the same causes as other malarial 
diseases, and should have the same general treatment. 

Precautions against Ague.— In malarial districts, have- 
sleeeping rooms on the sunny side of the house ; keep up a light 
fire during the evening; avoid the night air; take a bath in 
the morning in a warm room, drying with moderate friction ^ 
see that the diet is well chosen and the bowels kept open ; and 
eat freely of ripe acid fruits. Lemons are especially recom¬ 
mended and should be used daily. 


BILIOUS FEVER, 

Also known as intermittent fever, occurs more or less in all 
parts of the United States lying between the northern lakes and 
the Gulf of Mexico, but is more prevalent in the valleys of 
streams, on the borders of lakes and ponds, in the neighborhood 
of marshes, and the rich prairies of our western States. It is a 
much more serious disease everywhere in hot climates, and espe¬ 
cially where heat, moisture and decaying vegetable matter act 
conjointly; comparatively mild in temperate latitudes, it becomes 
extremely fatal in many places within the tropics. It is the 







BILIOUS FEVER. 


63 


disease of whose ravages in the East Indies, Africa, the Mediter¬ 
ranean, and South America, we have heard so much ; which has 
depopulated the Campagna of Rome, and rendered inter-tropical 
Africa uninhabitable by whites. 

Symptoms. —The attack usually commences with weakness, 
lowness of spirits, yawning and stretching, aversion to food, more 
or less severe pain in the head, alternate flashes of heat and cold 
which may continue for several days before the disease is fully 
developed. The formal onset is nearly always marked by a dis¬ 
tinct chill, rarely, however, amounting to a shake; this is fol¬ 
lowed by the hot stage, the pulse running up to 120 or more. 
The fever does not entirely go off, like fever and ague ; has dis¬ 
tinct remissions, but not complete intermissions. 

Treatment. —If the fever is in the formative stage, and has- 
not fully developed itself, give an emetic of the following: 


R. Ipecac, pulverized.1 scruple. 

Capsicum.15 grains 


Mix together and place in warm water, and take the whole at a dose. 

After free vomiting, take the following cathartic and liver 
pill: 


3 . Podophyllin. 15 grains. 

Leptandrin. 25 grains. 

Capsicum.. 10 grains. 


Mix, and make 20 pills. Take .first dose 3 pills, afterwards 1 pill at 
night on going to bed. In malarial districts it would be well to take daily 
a few grains of quinine. 

If the disease is already developed, the above treatment should 
not be followed, but the following course pursued: 

First sponge the body all over several times each day with tepid or cold 
water, or weak lye water, to which a little whisky may be added, according 
to the feeling of the patient, and give cooling drinks, the following being 


one of the best: 

1$. Cream of’ Tartar.4 drachms. 

Fresh Lemon Peel, bruised. 4 ounces. 

Loaf Sugar. 4 ounces. 

Boiling water. 3 pints. 


Mix; after standing a while, strain. Ice added will make it more agree¬ 
able to the patient, and will prove beneficial. In addition let the patient 
suck pieces of ice if desired. To moderate the fever, give the following : 











64 


MIASMATIC DISEASES. 


1$. Fluid Ex. Aconite. 20 drops. 

Fluid Extract Yeratrum Viride. 10 drops. 

Water. 10 teaspoonfuls. 


Mix altogether, and give 1 teaspoonful every hour until free perspiration 
is produced. After the fever has subsided and the patient is cool, give 
quinine in 3 or 4 grain doses, repeated every 4 hours. Cathartics that act 
on the liver will be found beneficial, and the liver pill, as prescribed above, 
will be best. When headache is severe apply mustard poultices to the back 
of the neck. After the fever is broken, tonics composed of iron and qui¬ 
nine, etc., should be used for several weeks. 

TYPHOID FEVER. 

Usually commences with a dull, heavy feeling, followed by 
weariness, soreness of limbs, headache, flashes of heat and cold, 
quick pulse, great thirst, and sometimes vomiting and bleeding 
from the nose. As the disease progresses, the skin becomes very 
dry and hot, bowels swollen and tight like a drum, with many 
other symptoms in different patients. 

If the disease proceeds unfavorably into the third week, there 
is low muttering and delirium, great exhaustion, sliding down 
of the patient towards the foot of the bed, twitching of the 
muscles, bleeding from the bowels, and red or purple spots on 
the skin. 

Treatment. —Do not give active cathartics, as the disease 
usually commences with a diarrhoea. The following may be 
given in the first stage: 

Castor Oil. 1 tablespoonful. 

Laudanum.15 drops. 

Mix, and give at a single dose. This will carry off effete matter, and 
check the diarrhoea. The skin should be frequently sponged with cool 
water, and the air of the sick apartment kept pure and fresh. To moderate 


the fever give the following: 

Fluid Extract Yeratrum Viride.20 drops. 

Fluid Extract Aconite. 20 drops. 

Water. 15 teaspoonfuls. 


Mix, and give 1 teaspoonful every 2 hours until fever abates. This will 
lessen the frequency of the pulse, reduce the fever, and produce perspira¬ 
tion. 

For the pain and swelling of the bowels apply over the abdo¬ 
men fomentations of hops, vinegar and corn meal, as described 
under head of “ Fomentations/’ to which should be added 










CONGESTIVE FEVER. 


65 


1 tablespoonful of oil of turpentine. Or cloths dipped in hot 
vinegar, and wrung dry, with a teaspoonful of oil of turpentine 
on them, may be placed on the bowels, and over this common 
-earthen plates, made hot by placing in an oven. This will be 
found in many cases all that is required. These fomentations 
may be continued until pressure can be made upon the parts 
without a sense of pain or tenderness, or until the stage of pros¬ 
tration comes on, when they must be dispensed with. If the 
-case is serious, in addition to the fomentations, the following 


injection will prove beneficial: 

1 $. Sulphate of Quinine.... 5 grains. 

Sulphuric Acid. 10 drops. 

Tinct. Prickly Ash Berries. 1 drachm. 

Oil of Turpentine. 30 drops. 


First mix the quinine and sulphuric acid, which is necessary to dissolve 
the quinine, then add the other ingredients. To be injected into the rectum 
and retained by compress, or otherwise; and it may be repeated every hour 
or two according to the urgency of the symptoms. 

If the head has a severe and constant pain, cut the hair short, 
mid frequently bathe the head with equal parts of cold vinegar 
and water, with mustard plaster applied to the feet. For bleed¬ 
ing from the bowels, or great debility, support the strength by 
beef tea and wine. 

The mouth should be cleansed frequently with cold vinegar 
; and water, or a weak infusion of black tea. Good nursing is 
very important. 

For constant drink the patient may use cold water, or if pre¬ 
ferred the cooling drink of cream of tartar, lemon peel and sugar, 
as prescribed for Bilious Fever, or milk can be taken freely. 

If the prostration is great, with the fever running a low course, 
quinine should be given, even in large doses if necessary. 

During the progress of the disease other urgent symptoms may 
appear, and should be treated on general principles. The stage 
.of recovery and convalescence simply calls for tonics, good air, 
nourishing food, moderate exercise, and such rules as the judg¬ 
ment of any good nurse may prescribe. 

CONGESTIVE FEVER. 

This fever is caused by malaria, and is one of the most severe 
and dangerous of all malarial fevers. In its early or late stage 






66 


MIASMATIC DISEASES. 


it is marked by a rush of blood to one or more organs, by which 
they are crowded full and congested—hence its title of Conges¬ 
tive Fever. 

Symptoms. —It is most commonly intermittent, but may 
assume any of the types of periodical fever. 

Treatment —Will be the same as recommended for bilious- 
fever. After the fever is broken, and during convalescence, the 
diet should be light and nutritious at first, increasing the quan¬ 
tity as the strength returns. Exercise in the open air daily. 
Tonics of quinine and iron, or a little wine, ale or brandy, taken 
2 or 3 times daily, will be beneficial. 

Lemons. —The free use of lemons cannot be too highly 
recommended in all miasmatic countries. They may be used at 
all times, during attacks of disease, during intermissions, and as 
a preventive, as well for those who are subject to malarial attacks 
as for those who are not. Lemons may be used simply by express¬ 
ing and swallowing the juice, in lemonade, or in any other com¬ 
bination that is agreeable. Lemons seem to be nature’s antidote 
for malaria. 

DIPHTHERIA. 

This is evidently a contagious disease, originating in certain 
atmospheric conditions; it shows a remarkable affinity for par¬ 
ticular localities, and exhibits special malignity and fatality in 
individual families. It is doubtless a disease of the blood, in 
which the whole system is involved, produced in many cases by 
emanations from sewers, privies, putrid stagnant ponds, using 
well water into which kitchen slops or other drainage has passed, 
and other similar causes. 

When the disease is prevailing in a neighborhood, every case 
of sore throat should receive prompt attention and careful treat¬ 
ment, and if possible be removed from the influence of con¬ 
tagion. 

Symptoms. —One of the first symptoms is a little stiffness 
and soreness of the neck, with a pricking sensation about the 
roots of the tongue. About this time the patient has a chill last¬ 
ing 2 or 3 hours, followed by a slight fever; pulse small and 
hard, skin parched, dry and husky; tongue dry, and covered 
with brownish fur, and entire loss of appetite. The tonsils, one 
or both, and other parts of the throat, are usually red and swol- 


DIPHTHERIA. 


67 


len, and covered wholly or in patches with the peculiar diph¬ 
theritic deposit of white or ash-colored specks. Within 4 or 5 
days portions of this exudation may become detached, leaving 
foul secreting ulcers. The symptoms vary in different subjects, 
but it is always a disease that calls for prompt medical aid, and 
a physician should be called immediately on its appearance. 

Treatment. —If the bowels are costive, mild and gentle lax¬ 
atives are indicated. Castor oil or magnesia may be taken just 
sufficient to regulate the bowels, but in no case should active 
cathartics be given, or any other medicine that will deplete the 
system. The disease is one of debility and exhaustion of the 
vital forces, hence tonics and remedies to sustain the system 
should be administered. A favorite prescription is the fol¬ 


lowing : 

3$. Chlorate Potassa. 30 grains. 

Sulphate Quinine. 20 grains. 

Mur. Tincture Iron. 2 drachms. 

Flour of Sulphur. 2 drachms. 

Camphor Water. 6 ounces. 


Mix, and give from 10 drops to 1 teaspoonful according to age of patient 
every 4 hours, letting it pass slowly down the throat, and also use as a gar¬ 
gle every hour. If the patient is too young to gargle, then make a swab 
with a piece of sponge or soft cloth attached to a bit of stick, and thoroughly 
wash the mouth, tonsils and throat with the mixture. In addition to this 
take flour of sulphur, dry, and through a tube blow it upon the diseased 
surface of throat, tonsils and tongue; this can be used every hour or so. 

A piece of fat bacon well sprinkled with flour of sulphur and 
bound on the throat, may be of benefit; at least it can do no- 
harm. 

If there is much fever give Fluid Extract of Veratrum Yiride and 
Fluid Extract of Aconite, 1 drop of each, in a teaspoonful of water,- 
every hour until the fever subsides. Sponge the body once or 
twice a day with the alkaline mixture described under the head 
of “ Baths and Bathing/’ and if there should be any tendency to 
coldness of the feet and hands, Tincture of Cayenne Pepper may 
be added to the wash. 

After the fever has subsided, give the following: 


I*. Sulphate of Quinine.30 grains. 

Muriate Tincture of Iron. 1 drachm. 

Lemon Syrup. 1 ounce. 

Water. 5 ounces 


Mix, and give a teaspoonful 3 times a day. 











MIASMATIC DISEASES. 


>•68 

A physician who has administered the following remedy for 
Diphtheria, says that it has always proved effectual: Take a 
tobacco pipe, place a live coal in the bowl, drop a little tar upon 
the coal, and a drop or two of Carbolic Acid, and let the patient 
draw smoke into the mouth, and discharge it through the nos¬ 
trils. The remedy is safe and simple. 

A diphtheric patient should be placed in a clean, airy room, 
and no one allowed in the room except the attendants. The 
diet should be plain and nutritious, and remember good nursing 
is of great importance. 


MUMPS. 

Mumps, like measles and whooping cough, is a contagious dis¬ 
ease of youth, though sometimes postponed to a later period of 
life. It is distinguished by a swelling of what is known as the 
parotid glands of the neck. Sometimes both sides are affected 
at once, and at others one side first and then the other. Some¬ 
times the disease passes away affecting only one side, when it is 
.supposed the person is liable to have it again. A little fever is 
usually present, and in severe cases the swellings attain consid¬ 
erable size, with fever symptoms strongly marked. 

Treatment. —There is usually more or less constipation, and 
the bowels should be gently moved with Compound Podopliyllin 
Pills. The patient should be kept in doors, carefully guarded 
from cold and wet, and the swollen part kept covered with flan¬ 
nels; moistening them with hot vinegar will be of service, 
or with vinegar in which hops, tansy or stramonium leaves have 
been steeped. In ordinary cases this will be all the treatment 
required. The swelling usually reaches its highest about the 
fourth day, and disappears in from seven to nine days after its 
first appearance. If there is considerable fever, give Fluid 
Extract Aconite in single drop doses in a teaspoonful of water 
•once an hour until the fever subsides. When the skin is hot 
and dry, the alkaline bath should be used. 

After-Swelling. —The danger in Mumps consists in the lia¬ 
bility to go to other parts—in females to the breasts, and in males 
to the testicles. To guard against this, care should be exercised 
not only during the progress of the disease, but for some days 
after its subsidence ; and the disease is quite liable to manifest 


HAY FEVER. 


69 ' 


itself in those parts in any event, but it will hardly be trouble¬ 
some unless the patient has suffered from cold. When these 
parts are affected the patient should be put to bed and perspira¬ 
tion induced by Fluid Extract of Aconite in 1 drop doses every 
hour, and some warm infusion, as catnip, pennyroyal, pepper 
mint, ginger, or the Composition Powder, and a hot fomenta¬ 
tion applied to the part. For this purpose there is nothing better 
than the Hop Fomentation, described under that head, page 24. 
An active cathartic, say 2 or 3 Compound Podophyllin Pills, 
should be given. The patient should keep the bed for a day or 
two during this treatment, and upon convalescing, may sit up, 
but should remain in doors for several days, and it would be well 
to protect the male organs by a suspensory bandage. 

Camphor for Mumps. —Camphor is said to have been used 
successfully to reduce the after-swelling in Mumps ; in the case 
of males holding the pendent parts in a basin of spirits of cam¬ 
phor, and bathing the adjacent parts freely with it, continuing 
or renewing the application until relief is had. If it occasion 
smarting more than the patient can bear, the liquid may be 
diluted with water. 

HAY FEYER. 

Seek change of air—to the seaside if possible. During the 
attacks, antispasmodics, such as sal-volatile, ether, or an emetic, 
if the patient is able to bear it, and inhalation of hot steam med¬ 
icated with creosote, carbolic acid, or turpentine, will be found 
useful. When the attack passes off the general health should be- 
improved by tonics, diet, etc. 






70 


ERUPTIVE FEVERS. 


ERUPTIVE FEVERS. 

The following diseases, most of which are usually designated 
as contagious, are properly classified under the head of Eruptive 
Fevers, as fever is a symptom common to all of them. 

SMALL POX. 

This, it need not be said, is among the list of virulent infec¬ 
tious diseases. 

Symptoms. —Small Pox usually begins with a chill, followed 
by lassitude; dull and heavy pains in the head; pains in the 
loins; hot skin with fever; quickened pulse and breathing; 
thirst; loss of appetite ; furred tongue ; nausea ; vomiting ; 
•constipation; restlessness, and general prostration. The patient 
.sometimes describes the symptoms in the back as feeling “ as if 
my back would come in two.” The tongue, white at first, soon 
becomes red at the point and over the whole surface. The flush 
of the face peculiar to measles and scarlatina, follows these symp¬ 
toms immediately, and the eruption usually makes its appear¬ 
ance in about 2 days after the occurrence of the first symptoms, 
though sometimes delayed to 3 or 4 days after. The eruption 
first appears in the form of small, red pimples on the face and 
neck, gradually extending over the whole body, which assume a 
cone-like shape, and feel hard to the touch. These symptoms 
will determine the presence of the disease, which usually reaches 
its convalescent stage in about 2 weeks from its first appearance, 
although the patient will not be in a condition to venture abroad 
for some days afterwards. It is proper to say, however, that 
during the earliest stages of the attack, and until the eruption 
appears, it is difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish it from 
measles or scarlatina. 

Recovery from Small Pox may be followed by cough, diseases 
of the eye, chest, scrofula, etc., while sometimes persons other¬ 
wise diseased have emerged from it fully restored. 

Treatment. —As soon as the disease is determined, the 
patient should, if practicable, be secluded so as not to communi¬ 
cate the disease to others. In many cases special hospitals or 


Malignant Foes of Childhood. 


















/ 


* 










I 




\ 





SMALL POX. 


71 


pest houses are provided, while in others they are improvised to 
meet the occasion. It is sometimes a trying position for 
friends to be placed in; but they should not unreasonably object 
to a removal, nor on the other hand should they become so panic 
stricken as to thrust a person sick with a mortal disease off in 
.some hovel without proper attendance or comforts. 

Confinement in bed, cooling drinks, cool and even tempera¬ 
ture, frequent changes of linen, and sponging the body with 
-cool water, adding a few drops of Carbolic Acid, embrace the 
more general treatment. The patient should be kept upon a 
spare diet, but may be given freely ripe and especially acid fruits, 
lemons, etc. The following is one of the best cooling drinks : 


1$. Cream of Tartar... 4 drachms. 

Fresh Lemon Peel... 4 ounces 

White Sugar......5 ounces. 

Boiling Water. ....3 pints 


Mix. After standing half an hour, strain. Ice added will make it more 
•agreeable. The patient can use this as a daily drink ; it will prove benefi¬ 
cial and pleasant to the taste. 

f 

The patient must not be kept too warm, neither should heat¬ 
ing drinks or other internal remedies that are heating be given. 
As the fever makes its appearance, medicines to reduce the 
'quickness of the pulse and produce sweating should be given. 
The following prescription is one of the best for the purpose : 


Fluid Extract Veratrum Viride.10 drops. 

Fluid Extract Aconite.20 drops. 

Water. 10 teaspoonfuls. 


Mix, and give 1 teaspoonful each hour until the pulse is reduced and 
•sweating takes place, when it may be given every 4 or 5 hours. 

The diet should be light but nutritious, as the patient requires 
constant support. Cornmeal gruel may be used, but oatmeal 
porridge with milk and sugar is by far the best food that can be 
given. 

If any complications should arise, these must be treated on 
general principles, so as to meet the particular indications of the 
■case. 

To Prevent Pitting. —The patient should be kept in a dark 
room, as the action of light and heat produces the pits. Wash 
the pustules with Carbolic Acid Soap and water, and apply sweet 
oil. 









72 


ERUPTIVE FEVERS. 


India Rubber Cuticle to Prevent Pitting. —A solution 
of India-rubber in chloroform, painted with a camel-hair pencil 
over the surface of the skin, where exposed, when the eruption 
has become fully developed, is said to prevent pitting. When 
the chlorform has evaporated, which it very readily does, there 
is left a thin elastic film of India-rubber over the face. This the 
patient feels to be rather comfortable, as it removes itching and 
all irritation. In making the solution, the India-rubber must be 
cut into small pieces, and chloroform added till it is dissolved. 
Gutta-percha has been tried, but has not answered, on account 
of its non-elasticity. Should any of the solution, from some 
cause, be torn off, apply the same as before. 

To Remove Pitting and Old Pock-Marks. —To remove 
pitting and old pock-marks, sweet oil, pomade, or ointment, 
medicated with croton-oil, and of a strength just sufficient to 
raise a very slight pustular eruption, is probably the safest and 
most effective and convenient of all the preparations that are 
employed for the purpose. It has for some years been success¬ 
fully employed in France, and has there received medical 
approval. Dr. Cooley says he has seen it succeed to admiration, 
when every other method has failed. It should be applied at 
intervals extending over several weeks, as the feelings, experi¬ 
ence, and convenience of the party concerned may indicate, due 
care and caution being observed the whole time. 

VARIOLOID. 

Persons who have been vaccinated for kine pox, or who may 
have had small pox, are liable to have a modified smalljpox, or what 
is known as Varioloid. The symptoms are those of the mildest 
form of small pox, though its course is shorter and more irregu¬ 
lar. The disease may prove fatal, but it is seldom considered 
dangerous. The treatment should be the same as for distinct 
small pox. 

Disinfecting. —Upon the recovery of a patient, whether 
from Small Pox or Varioloid, the clothing and bedding used 
should be burned, and the room thoroughly disinfected with Car¬ 
bolic Acid. 

VACCINATION. 

The best vaccine matter is what is known as the “ bovine 
virus,” which may be had of any druggist. One person may be 


SCARLET FEVER. 


73 


vaccinated with a vaccine scab taken from another person, but 
this is not generally desirable owing to the liability of communi¬ 
cating disease. Vaccination can be performed by any intelligent 
person. The upper side of the left arm about half way between 
the elbow and the shoulder is usually selected, although with 
infants, a place on the hip or buttock where they cannot well get 
at it to scratch, may be preferable. An abrasion of the skin by 
scratching or puncturing, so as to start the blood, is made, and 
the vaccine matter inserted in the wound. The most effective 
way is to take a sharp-pointed knife or lancet and puncture the 
skin so as to start the blood slightly, raising the skin in the form 
of a flap, and then insert the vaccine, placing over the wound a 
bit of adhesive plaster. Unless the wound is closed by the plas¬ 
ter or by some other means, should it bleed a little freely the 
vaccine matter may be washed out and not take effect. When a 
scab is used (a very small bit is sufficient) it should be placed on 
a piece of glass and a drop of water dropped upon it to soften it. 

When the operation is successful, a small pimple appears about 
the fourth day, which becomes a fully developed pustule about, 
the eighth day. Sometimes there are several of these pustules.. 
After their full development they dry up in 3 or 4 days, leav¬ 
ing a scab which falls off in due course. 

Treatment. —Vaccination is frequently accompanied with 
evidences of slight indisposition, but as a rule little or no treat¬ 
ment is required. Should the fever run high, 1 or 2 drops of 
Fluid Extract Aconite in a teaspoonful of water every hour until 
the fever subsides, will be sufficient. Great care should be taken 
to not break or otherwise injure the vesicle. 

SCARLET FEYER. 

Also called Canker-Rash, Scarlatina, etc. When of a virulent, 
type it is one of the most fatal of contagious diseases, especially 
with children. It is attended with fever, usually intense 
(which may be preceded by a chill), rapid rising of the pulse, 
headache, loss of appetite, great thirst, and sometimes delirium ^ 
the skin is hot, face flushed, eyes bright, etc. Vomiting usually 
supervenes within the first 24 hours. At the end of the second 
day the scarlet rash appears, first about the head, neck and 

5 


74 


ERUPTIVE FEVERS. 


shoulders, and is observed also on the whites of the eyes, throat, 
tongue, etc. 

Treatment. —The child should be given a room well aired, 
though not to expose it to cold draughts, should be restricted to 
a low diet, and should be given some mild cathartic. The disease, 
when only of a mild type, will hardly prove more than troublesome. 
To reduce the fever, give 1 drop Fluid Extract of Aconite in a 
teaspoonful of water every 2 hours until perspiration supervenes. 
Cool applications should be made to the head if there be much 
fever, headache and flushing; also place the feet in a warm 
mustard foot-bath. If the throat is considerably swollen, cut a 
thin slice of fat salt pork or bacon, place it in a single fold of 
thin muslin, and bind it on so that it will cover the throat well 
from ear to ear. If the child is old enough to gargle, prepare 
the following for a gargle : 


]$. Carbolic Acid. 20 drops. 

Chlorate of Potash... 1 drachm. 

Glycerine. 2 ounces. 

Water. 4 ounces. 


Mix and use as a gargle 3 or 4 times a day. If J;he child is too young to 
gargle, apply as a wash to the throat with a camel’s hair brush, or swab. 

If no unfavorable symptoms arise, the disease reaches the con¬ 
valescent stage in 7 or 8 days, which is marked by scaling off, 
making the skin look as though it had been dusted with meal. 
Great care should be taken at this time to prevent exposure or 
-checking of the perspiration. 

To allay the itching of the surface that attends Scarlet Fever, 
a mixture of 2 parts of glycerine to 4 parts of cold cream, milk, 
or milk and water, may be used. 

Gargle for Scarlatina. —Take golden seal, gum myrrh 
and sumach bark, equal quantities, with a small portion of 
capsicum and table salt, simmer in equal parts of vinegar and 
water, and sweeten with honey. 

Preventive of Scarlet Fever. —Tincture of belladona 
has been found to render persons unsusceptible to the fever, in 
places where it is raging. Dilute 20 drops of the tincture in a 
tumbler of water, giving a teaspoonful 3 or 4 times a day. 

Remedy for Dropsy in Scarlatina. —Mix together 
drachms acetate of potassa, 6 grains extract of foxglove, 2 






MEASLES. 75 

drachms vinegar of squill, 6 drachms syrup of ginger, and 2 
ounces water. Dose.— One teaspoonful every 3 hours. 

Atlee’s Scarlet Fever Remedy. —One-half ounce each 
-chlorate of potassa and hydrochloric acid, and ounce spring 
water. Dose.— Ten drops in a wineglassful of cold water every 
% hours. 

Prevention of Scarlet Fever after Exposure. —It is 

said that Carbolic Acid, 5 drops thoroughly mixed in J pint of 
water, giving a teaspoonful 4 or 5 times a day, will destroy the 
germs of Scarlet Fever after exposure. The vapor from a solu¬ 
tion of Carbolic Acid, as recommended in whooping cough, is 
.also worthy of trial, if employed soon after exposure to Scarlet 
Fever. 

MEASLES. 

The first symptoms of measles are : Chills, fever, thirst, pains 
in the head and back, quick pulse, nausea and sometimes vomit¬ 
ing, tongue moist and coated white, hurried breathing, dry cough 
.and hoarseness, flushed face, eyes red and watery, sneezing and 
discharge from the nose. The eruption appears in 3 or 4 days, 
first on the forehead in the form of red, crescent-shaped spots, a 
little raised so that they may be felt. They disappear on the 
fifth or sixth day, being terminated by bran-like scales. 

Measles is a less dangerous disease than scarlet fever, although 
sometimes mistaken for it in the early stages. But in Measles 
the spots are not as deep colored as in scarlet fever, are differ¬ 
ently shaped, and rougher to the touch; in scarlet fever they 
.appear usually on the second day after the first symptoms are 
observed, and in Measles on the third or fourth day. The nasal 
irritation, sneezing and discharge that are a prominent symptom 
in Measles, do not occur in scarlet fever. 

Treatment. —In ordinary cases mild treatment only is 
required. Some expectorant drink, as warm lemonade or flax¬ 
seed tea, and keeping the patient in the house and carefully pro¬ 
tected from cold, will be all that is needed. 

If the attack is severe, attended with high fever, headache, 
restlessness, etc., the feet should be placed in a hot mustard bath 
for 10 or 15 minutes, after which place the patient in bed warmly 
•covered, giving every hour until the fever subsides and sweating 
takes place, Fluid Extract of Aconite, 1 drop to a teaspoonful of 


76 


ERUPTIVE FEVERS. 


water; and every 2 hours, or until the pulse is reduced in fre¬ 
quency, give 1 drop Fluid Extract of Yeratrum Yiride similarly 
diluted. 

Cold water may be taken freely with benefit in this as well as 
in all other eruptive or miasmatic fevers. A very good drink 
can be prepared by making a bowlful of slippery elm infusion, 
and adding the juice of a lemon and a tablespoonful of cream of 
tartar, and using as a drink as the patient desires. 

The bowels should be regulated by the Compound Podophyllim 
Pills or the Compound Powder of Jalap. 

The diet should be light, and consist largely of ripe cooked 
fruits, gruels, broths, and other easily digestible articles. 

Sore throat should be relieved by inhalation of hot vinegar, or 
by a gargle of Carbolic Acid, 2 drops to 1 ounce of water. If the* 
eyes should become irritated and inflamed, they may be relieved 
by a cool wash of slippery elm, alum curd, rose leaves, or moist- 
tea grounds taken from the tea pot. 

In cases where the eruption does not appear, warm whisky 
sling or the Compound Tincture of Virginia Snake Root may be 
given to bring it out. 

Striking in of Measles calls for energetic treatment. In 
addition to warm infusions internally, apply mustard poultices to* 
the feet, ankles, wrists, and over the whole abdomen, letting the 
poultices remain a few minutes and until they produce consider¬ 
able redness. 

Severe cases of Measles are liable to be accompanied with 
pneumonia, and where there are decided symptoms of this, the 
Hop Fomentation (page 24) should be applied over the whole 
chest, with warm applications to the feet and legs. The fre¬ 
quent inhalation of the vapor of hot vinegar should be employed. 

Chronic sore eyes, diarrhoea, a lingering cough, etc., are liable 
to follow severe cases of Measles, and these should be treated 
according to the indications of each individual case. 

ERYSIPELAS. 

This disease is supposed to exist latent in certain unhealthy 
conditions of the blood, but it is brought on by a variety of 
causes, especially unwholesome food and intemperance in eating 
or drinking. It sometimes prevails as an epidemic, when its 
immediate cause may be sought for in the condition of the atmos- 


ERYSIPELAS. 


77 


phere. The disease more frequently appears on the head and 
face, but is liable to manifest itself in the breast and in one or 
more of the limbs, and it sometimes attacks also the internal 
organs. The disease known as “black tongue” is a form of 
Erysipelas. The attacks are characterized in the first instance 
by chills, loss of appetite, nausea, constipation, etc., followed in 
2 or 3 days by inflammation of the part, with great pain, heat, 
and an itching or pricking sensation, redness and swelling of the 
skin, with the general symptoms of typhoid fever, where the 
disease is strongly marked, these symptoms continuing without 
intermission when the inflammation is extensive. When the 
head is the seat of the disease, there is stupor, slight delirium, 
full and rapid pulse, difficult breathing, swelling so as some¬ 
times to close the eyes. When the breasts are affected they swell 
and become very hard and painful, often suppurating. In severe 
cases vesicles or pustules usually form on the surface, and as 
they break and dry, fall off in scales. Erysipelas sometimes 
occurs as the sequel of dropsy, in which case the condition is 
unfavorable, as also when complicated with other diseases, and 
when it occurs with the aged, the intemperate, and those of 
debilitated constitutions. When the disease recedes or “strikes 
in,” it is unfavorable, and also when attended with delirium and 
strongly marked typhoid symptoms. 

Treatment. —As a local application to allay the fever, 
burning and itching of the inflamed parts, the following is pre¬ 


ferred : 

1$. Fluid Extract Belladonna. 2 drachms. 

Fluid Extract Veratrum Yiride. 1 drachm. 

Carbolic Acid. 30 grains. 

Water. 8 ounces. 


Mix. Bathe the affected parts with this several times a day; and in case 
of great heat and burning, moisten a piece of linen cloth with it and keep 
it constantly upon the parts. 

The internal medication consists in the use of saline cathartics, 
diuretics, and medicine to reduce the pulse and produce sweat¬ 
ing. The following is the best cathartic : 


Podophyllin. 2 grains. 

Leptandrin. 4 grains. 

Cream of Tartar. 2 scruples. 


Mix, and divide into 4 powders, 1 to be given every 6 hours until a free 
.cathartic effect is produced. 









78 


DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 


The bowels should be kept in a regular condition daily, and 
if necessary one of the above powders may be given occasionally 
as required. Fluid Extract of Yeratrum Viride and Fluid Ex¬ 
tract of Aconite should be given in 1 drop doses of each in a tea¬ 
spoonful of water, every 3 or 4 hours, until the fever and inflam¬ 
mation abates. A drink of buchu leaves and marshmallow will 
prove a good diuretic and may be taken freely. 

After the disease has subsided a tonic should be used for 3 or 
4 weeks. The following will be found to be the best: 


Muir. Tinct. Iron...5 drachms. 

Sulph. Quinine. 1 drachm. 

Brandy. 5 ounces. 

Simple Syrup. 2 ounces. 


Mix, and take 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls 3 times daily immediately after meals.. 


DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 

In purely medical works, all diseases are subject to scientific; 
classification. This rule is not strictly adhered to in this work, 
as being altogether unnecessary in a popular treatise. Rather, 
the law of convenience has governed, in which convenience of 
reference by the reader has been consulted, no less than con¬ 
venience in compilation. 

CONSUMPTION. 

This disease, known as Phthisis Pulmonalis, is probably the 
greatest existing scourge of the human race, at least in the- 
northern and middle latitudes. It will not be deviating far from 
the truth to say that it causes about one-sixth or one-seventh of all 
the deaths north of the tropics. The duration of the disease is, 
exceedingly variable. While some cases run their course to a fatal 
termination in less than a month, others have been known to con¬ 
tinue 30 or 40 years. The greater number of cases, as a rule, term¬ 
inate in from one to two years. It is pre-eminently a hereditary 
disease ; one parent very often entails it upon the offspring, and 
both still more frequently. Whole families thus descended are 
often swept away by this fearful disease. Frequent atmospheric- 
changes from heat to cold, and dryness to dampness, is one of 









(Yosemite.) 

California, the Consumptive’s Hope. 






























CONSUMPTION. 79 

the exciting causes in the development of Consumption, when 
existing in a latent form. 

Consumption is so well understood from its commencement to 
its termination that it is not deemed necessary to enter into a 
detailed description of its various stages, but there is given 
instead what is deemed of much greater practical value, namely, 
treatment to lessen and mitigate the effects of this great enemy 
of mankind. 

Treatment. —It would be well for every one, in the early 
stage of Consumption, to seek a mild, dry climate; Georgia, Ala¬ 
bama and Florida, all afford good locations during the winter 
months. The immense pine forests of these regions may add 
the advantages of their exhalations to those afforded by the dry¬ 
ness and warmth of the climate. Probably there is no climate 
in the world equal to that of Santa Barbara, California, where the 
mean temperature only varies about 10 degrees during the year, 
and where there is a remarkable freedom from dampness and 
chilly winds. There is no debilitating heat; the nights are 
always cool, so that a light wood fire is pleasant to sit by, with 
the doors open, and flowers in full bloom the year round. San- 
Diego, Los Angeles, and many other places in Southern Cali¬ 
fornia, cannot be too highly recommended as places of residence. 

When it is impossible for the patient to remove to distant 
regions, a dry place should be selected near by, using care to 
guard against cold ; also being equally careful to avoid debilitat¬ 
ing heat. When there is reason to believe the patient is sinking 
under some mental influence, such as disappointment of the 
affections, or other grief or anxiety, concealed or open, every 
effort should be made to discover and remove the source of mis¬ 
chief. Intense application to study, or any sedentary business, 
must be avoided; cheerful company, dancing, music, the beau¬ 
tiful in art and nature, should all be cultivated. The long¬ 
faced, hypocritical clergyman, with his doleful prayers and 
church psalms, should be avoided as deadly poison, as this would 
in many cases be sufficient to throw a well person into Con¬ 
sumption. 

Exercise in the open air is very important, and it cannot be 
impressed too strongly on consumptive patients that if they wish 
to live, they must exercise . 


80 


DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 


Food. —It is very important to build up the system and sup¬ 
ply the waste by a generous diet. Fresh meats are particularly 
beneficial. Fresh beef broiled over hot coals, and cooked rare, 
should be eaten at least once a day. Oatmeal porridge, well 
cooked, eaten with sugar and cream, should be the principal food 
for breakfast. Wine, good brandy, soft cooked eggs, cream, 
sugar, etc., may all be used with great advantage and benefit, 
at such times as the stomach seems to crave food. Salt is of 
essential service, and should be used freely. The food must not 
only be nutritious, but easy of digestion, and not of a kind to 
cause flatulency and acidity of the stomach. 

The Skin should be briskly rubbed with a coarse towel or 
flesh brush daily, using considerable friction, and once a week an 
alkaline bath will be found beneficial, as it not only removes 
effete matter, but likewise exerts a salutary influence upon the 
capillary system, and thereby upon the whole body. Anointing 
the skin all over with cocoanut oil, cod liver oil, or olive oil, 
has been found in many cases to produce good results. 

Medicines. —The cure of Consumption does not depend 
upon these alone ; the foregoing hygienic rules are of more 
importance than medication. A good course to follow is to 
take as little medicine as possible, and then let it be to meet 
symptoms that may arise. 

Cough Inhalent. —Cough is an obstinate and distressing 
symptom; the following inhalent is an excellent remedy to 


relieve the cough : 

1$. Creosote. 10 drops. 

Carbolic Acid. 15 drops. 

Sulphate Morphia. 1 grain. 

Water. 8 ounces. 


Mix ; heat the solution, and let the patient inhale the vapor 3 or 4 times 
a day. 

Cough Mixture. —The following has been used with good 
results to check the cough and relieve the soreness and inflam¬ 
mation of the bronchial tubes and lungs : 


3$. Chlorate of Potassa. 2 scruples. 

Water. 6 ounces. 

Fluid Extract Aconite.30 drops. 

Tincture Opium. 2 drachms. 


Mix, and take 1 teaspoonful 3 or 4 times daily. 










CONSUMPTION. 


81 

Strengthening Cough Cordial.— The following has been 
compounded and prescribed for many years, and is by far the 
best preparation for consumptive coughs, and as a general cough 
medicine, ever prepared. Its effects have been compared in 
many cases with other cough remedies in use, and it will succeed 
in twice as many cases as any other : 


1$. Lobelia Seed, ground.... j ounce 

Ipecac Root, “ 2 ounces. 

Blood Root, “ li ounces. 

Anise Seed, “ 2 ounces. 

Fennel Seed, “ 4 drachms. 

W dd Cherry bark, " 10 ounce3 . 

Orange Peel, “ 1 ounce. 

Squill Root, bruised. 1 ounce. 

Liquorice Root, pulverized. 3 drachms. 

Cochineal, bruised. 1 drachm. 

Acetate Morph.45 grains. 

Alcohol. £ gallon. 

Water. gallon. 

Pulv. White Sugar. 2£ pounds. 

Sulphuric Acid. £ drachm. 


To make: Place all the above in the alcohol except the wild cherry bark, 
the water, sugar, and sulphuric acid; let stand 1 week, shaking or stirring 
thoroughly 2 or 3 times each day; then having kept the wild cherry bark 2 
days in a covered vessel, with water enough upon it to wet it through, 
place it in a percolator, and run £ gallon of water through it, and add to 
the alcohol and other ingredients; let the whole stand 3 days longer, stir¬ 
ring as before 2 or 3 times daily, then draw off and filter through paper. 
Now add the sugar, and lastly the sulphuric acid. The acid, by acting 
chemically on the cochineal, will improve the color, which will be a fine 
cherry-red tinged with orange. The above when finished should be 1 gal¬ 
lon. Dose. —One or two teaspoonfuls for an adult; children, from 15 drops 
to \ teaspoonful, according to age, 3 or 4 times daily, or when a fit of 
coughing comes on. 

Counter Irritation is beneficial when there is much inflam¬ 
mation and soreness of the chest; sometimes a mustard plaster 
applied until redness of the skin is produced is sufficient. The 
best counter irritant is : 


I£. Croton Oil.4 drachms. 

Sweet Oil... .2 drachms 

Mix; apply 10 or 15 drops with a feather or camel hair brush over the 
painful place once a day until pustules appear and discharge. 



















82 


DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 


Night Sweats are a source of distress and exhaustion. The- 
following prescriptions are excellent to check these sweats : 


1. IJ. Oxide of Zinc.30 grains. 

Extract of Hyosciamus . 20 grains. 


Mix, and make into 20 pills, of which 2 may be taken every night. 

2. Dissolve 15 grains sulphate of quinine in 4 drachms essence of tansy,. 
2 drachms alcohol, 2 drachms water, and 30 drops muriatic acid. A tea¬ 
spoonful taken 2 or 3 times during the day and at bed-time. In connection 
with this remedy, cold sage tea should be used freely as a drink. 


3. 1$. Sulphate Quinine. 16 grains. 

Aromatic Sulphuric Acid. 16 drops. 

Compound Spirits of Lavender. 2 ounces. 


Mix; Dose. —1 teaspoonful in water on retiring. 

In addition to this, the whole body should be sponged daily 
with a warm mixture of equal parts of alcohol and’ water, to 
which some tincture of capsicum has been added, using sufficient 
to produce an agreeable glow and dryness of the skin. 

Bleeding. —In case of bleeding from the lungs the patient 
should keep perfectly quiet and in a semi-recumbent position, 
with the room well ventilated, allowing in warm weather the air 
to blow upon the chest. Give from one-half to a full teaspoonful 
of dry table salt, repeating every ten or fifteen minutes if the- 
bleeding continues. Another good remedy is spirits of turpen¬ 
tine given in doses of a half to a full teaspoonful, repeated if 
necessary. (For fuller treatment see “ Bleeding from the 
Lungs,” page 89.) 

Diarrhoea —Is a very obstinate and exhausting symptom; to 
check this, give tris-nitrate of bismuth in 10 grain doses, 3 times 
each day at meal time. It may be taken in water, or gum 
arabic mucilage, which is preferable. 

Many other Symptoms are likely to appear, which should be 
treated on general principles, being careful to never oppress or 
embarrass the stomach. Let the remedies be so managed as to- 
meet each symptom without at the same time producing any bad 
effects. 

The following recipes are appended, as they have all been used 
with success : 

A Good Inhalent. —Mix together \ fluid ounce Tincture of 
Cubebs and 20 drops Carbolic Acid. Add the mixture to £ pint 







CONSUMPTION. 


S3 


hot water in an inhaler, and use every 3 or 4 hours, taking full 
respirations. A very efficient remedy in dry cough. 

Inhalation of Tar for Consumption.— Mix together 16 
ounces liquid tar and 1 fluid ounce liquor of potassa; boil them 
for a few minutes in the open air; then let simmer gently in 
an iron vessel over a spirit or other lamp in the chamber of the 
patient. This may, at first, excite a disposition to cough, but 
m a short time allays and removes any tendency to it. 

Syrup for Consumptives. —One ounce blood root, £ 
ounce aniseseed, and \ ounce liquorice boiled in 2 pints water 
down to a pint, and then mixed with 4 ounces honey. This is 
highly recommended in consumptive cases attended with dys-' 
peptic symptoms. 

Cough Syrup. —Tincture of lobelia 1 ounce, Iceland moss 
2 ounces, white poppy capsules, bruised, 2 ounces, pearl barley 
2 tablespoonfuls, water 2 quarts, molasses 2 ounces. Boil down 
to 3 pints and strain. Dissolve in it from 4 to 8 ounces of rock 
candy. It effectually allays a tickling cough. A tablespoonful 
when the cough is troublesome. It does not constipate, like 
laudanum and paregoric. 

Cough Mixture. —Two grains acetate of morphia, 1 drachm 
each tincture of belladonna and tincture of nux vomica, 3 drachms 
each antimonial wine and syrup of ipecacuanha root, 1 ounce 
fluid extract of wild cherry bark, and 2 ounces syrup of balsam 
of tolu. A teaspoonful 4 times a day relieves chronic or hacking 
cough. 

To Prevent Hoarseness. —A celebrated singer states that 
the greatest benefit is derived from taking, during five or six 
days, twice a day, five or six drops of nitric acid in a glass of 
sugared water. If from use the acid loses its efficacy, the dose 
may be increased to ten or twelve drops. 

To Restrain Perspiration. —Water 2 ounces, diluted 
sulphuric acid 40 drops, compound spirits of lavender 2 drachms ; 
take a tablespoonful twice a day. 

Remedy for Sudden Hoarseness. —Mix 1 teaspoonful 
of sweet spirits of nitre in a wineglassful of water. This may be 
taken two or three times a day. 

To Cure Hoarseness.— Saturated solution of iodine 20- 


84 DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 

drops, alcohol 1 ounce; 5 drops of the above on a lump of loaf 
sugar every 2 hours will be found invaluable. 

Shortness of Breath. —Take spirits of ether 1 ounce, and 
camphor 12 grains. Make a solution, of which take a teaspoon 
ful during the paroxysm. This is usually found to afford instan¬ 
taneous relief in difficult breathing, depending on internal dis¬ 
ease and other causes, where the patient, from a quick and very 
laborious breathing, is obliged to be in an erect posture. 

PNEUMONIA. 

Inflammation of the Lungs—also called “ Lung Fever. ” It is 
a disease to which both children and adults are subject. The 
disease is liable to be associated with pleurisy, bronchitis, and 
other pulmonary affections. It is usually at first present in but 
one lung, but may affect both, and arises as a sequent of a cold, 
though sometimes from over-exercise of the lungs and inhala¬ 
tion of dust particles or noxious vapors. 

Symptoms. —Chill, followed by fever; dull pain in the 
chest, especially on coughing or drawing a full breath; hurried 
and difficult breathing; dry, painful cough, but sometimes 
changing to moist, in which the expectorated matter may be 
white, semi-transparent or rust-colored, and sometimes streaked 
with blood ; skin dry and hot; face flushed, sometimes swollen 
and purplish ; pulse full, strong and frequent at first, but chang¬ 
ing to weak, soft and irregular; bowels at first constipated, but 
. changing to diarrhoeic; urine scanty and high-colored, some¬ 
times a yellowish-brown; tongue dry and coated white, yellow 
or yellowish-brown ; much thirst, vague feeling of anxiety, etc. 

In children, when attended with bronchitis, the breathing will 
be short, difficult and wheezing; there is restlessness, paleness 
and anxiety of countenance; bronchial cough; hard, frequent 
pulse; skin hot, except the extremities, which are cool; pur¬ 
pling of the lips, etc., occurring in the advanced stages. 

Severe attacks of Pneumonia, unless arrested, are liable to prove 
fatal in a very few days. 

Treatment. —First, see under head of “ Hot Fomentations,” 
on page 24, the manner of making the Hop Fomentation. This 
should be made of sufficient size to cover the entire lung (or 
lungs, if they are both affected), and applied as hot as possible, 


PNEUMONIA—ACUTE BRONCHITIS. 


85 


using care to not expose the patient to cold air. This should be 
changed as often as it becomes cool, and should be continued 
until the patient is relieved, as this application is of as much, or 
more importance, than any or all other treatment. 

Internal Remedies. —Give internally the following : 


1. B Fluid Extract Veratrum Viride.40 drops 

Fluid Extract Aconite. 20 drops. 

Water... 20 teaspoonfuls. 


Mix. Dose. —One teaspoonful every hour until the pulse is less fre¬ 
quent and the fever is subdued, then in smaller doses. 

2. The following should be taken in addition to the above— 
both can be taken at the same time if desired : 


Acetate Potassa. 4 drachms. 

Water.4 ounces. 


Mix, and take a teaspoonful every 2 hours. 

The bowels should be kept regular with one or two Compound 
Podophyllin Pills at night, but active cathartics should be 
avoided. 

3. As the fever abates, the cough will need special attention,, 
and to keep this quiet and make the raising easy, the following 


prescription will be suitable : 

3$. Fluid Extract Veratrum Viride. 1 drachm. 

Fluid Extract Lobelia.. 2 drachms. 

Gum Arabic, pulverized. 4 drachms. 

Acetic Acid. 3 drachms. 

Syrup Tolu.2 ounces. 

Brandy. 4 ounces. 


Mix, and take a teaspoonful every 2 or 3 hours, according to the severity' 
of the cough. 

Mucilaginous drinks, such as slippery elm, flaxseed, marsh¬ 
mallow, etc., should be used freely. Adding one or two table- 
spoonfuls of cream of tartar to half a tumbler of one of these 
drinks, and taken 3 or 4 times a day, will be beneficial. The- 
food should be light and nutritious. 

ACUTE BRONCHITIS. 

Bronchitis is usually produced by cold or sudden changes in 
temperature, by which the mucous membrane lining the bron¬ 
chial tubes becomes inflamed. The disease may involve all the 
bronchial tubes of both lungs, or it may be confined to a part- 













'86 DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 

of them. The disease may be mild or severe, acute or chronic. 

Irritating vapors and gases, and minute organisms floating in 
the air, may produce Acute Bronchitis. Valvular disease of the 
heart may cause congestion of the bronchi and thus produce an 
inflammation of the mucous membrane. 

The seasons of the year in which cold ram, high winds, and 
.alternating frosts and thawing prevail, develop many cases of 
the disease. 

Symptoms. —A dry, harsh cough is present from the com¬ 
mencement, with a tense feeling of constriction in the throat; pain 
-is felt when a long breath is drawn; the voice is usually hoarse for 
2 or 3 days; the cough brings up a thin, glairy mucous, and a 
day or two later this secretion is increased in quantity, of a yel¬ 
lowish color, and raised more easily. As soon as free expectora¬ 
tion takes place, the pain and soreness diminish, the feverish 
symptoms disappear, and though the cough may remain for 
several days, it is easy and less frequent. 

These are the usual symptoms of Acute Bronchitis, or cold in 
the chest. It usually runs its course, and recovery takes place 
in from 10 to 20 days. 

In the more severe forms of this disease, all the above symp¬ 
toms, and many others, are highly aggravated. 

Treatment. —The first thing to be done is to give a free 
■cathartic; 2 or 3 Compound Podophyllin Pills should be taken 
at once, and each night after 1 pill should be taken, or sufficient 
to produce 1 or 2 evacuations of the bowels. A spirit vapor bath 
should be immediately prepared, and the patient should use this, 
placing the feet in hot water, and while taking the bath the fol¬ 


lowing should be administered : 

Fluid Extract Pleurisy Root.20 drops. 

Fluid Extract Aconite. 2 drops. 

Hot Water. . 1 teacupful. 


Mix, and take the whole at a dose. Cover up warm in bed, and repeat 
the dose every half hour until free perspiration is produced. 

To control the cough and promote expectoration, the following 


mixture should be used : 

Fluid Extract Pleurisy Root. 3 ounces. 

Fluid Extract Lobelia. 3 drachms. 

Fluid Extract Veratrum Viride...30 drops. 

Syrup of Squills. 1 ounce. 









CHRONIC BRONCHITIS. 


87 


Mix, and take 1 teaspoonful every 4 or 5 hours If the case is very severe, 
with high fever and difficulty of breathing, and dry, hard cough, with 
scanty expectoration a free emetic taken first will frequently do more good 
than any other remedy, and no emetic in these cases can compare to the 
relaxing and expectorating effect that will be produced by Lobelia; one- 
half teaspoonful of the fluid extract may be given every half hour until free 
vomiting ensues; after this the remedies above described may be employed 
with advantage. 

Alcoholic stimulants should be used where there is failing 
■strength, the quantity given depending upon the condition and 
age of the patient. 

The diet should be nutritious and easy of digestion, consisting 
principally of gruels, broths and fluids, especially when inflam¬ 
mation of the bowels and stomach supervene. 

CHRONIC BRONCHITIS. 

This is a disease of slow growth, and it may continue for a 
year or even for a lifetime. It may arise from Acute Bronchitis, 
but rarely from a single attack, but is due more to a succession 
•of such attacks, or colds, a cough being present during the win¬ 
ter months for two or three years, until it becomes permanent. A 
tickling sensation in the throat is noticed, which finally extends 
to the mucous membrane of the bronchial tubes. With every 
sudden change of the weather the cough is more distressing, and 
•after a time difficulty of breathing is more pronounced, and is 
always aggravated by undue exertion. The disease is usually 
present in valvular disease of the heart, and Bright’s disease of 
the kidneys, and is many times developed during the progress of 
;small pox, scarlatina or other infectious disease. When prop¬ 
erly treated in the early stages the majority of cases may be 
permanently cured. 

Treatment. —The first thing to be considered is the general 
condition of the patient. If the bowels are constipated, 1 Com¬ 
pound Podophyllin Pill should be given each night until a regu¬ 
lar movement is produced. 

The action of the kidneys should be maintained by the fol¬ 


lowing : 

Fluid Extract Buchu. 4 ounces. 

Acetate Potassa. 4 drachms. 

Simple Syrup. 2 ounces. 


Mix, and give a teaspoonful 3 times each day. 





88 


DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT 


When the appetite is impaired and the digestion imperfect,, 
the following should be given : 


Sulphate Quinine. 2 scruples. 

Fluid Extract Nux Vomica.2 drachms. 

Fluid Extract Prickly Ash Berries. 4 drachms. 

Best Brandy. 4 ounces. 

Simple Syrup. 1 ounce. 

Mix, and give a teaspoonful before each meal. 


When the cough is severe the following may be given to pro¬ 
mote expectoration and give relief : 


B. Fluid Extract Lobelia. 4 drachms 

Fowler’s Solution of Arsenic. 3 drachms. 

Fluid Extract Veratrum Viride. 40 drops. 

Syrup Tolu. 1 ounce. 

Jamaica Rum. 4 ounces. 


Mix, and give 1 teaspoonful every 4 hours. 

In addition to these internal remedies, mustard plasters should 
be applied over the chest, or what is still better, the Compound 
Tar Plaster should be worn for a week or so, and after leaving 
it off for a few days, applying it again for a week or two. 

Inhalation of equal parts carbolic acid and aqua ammonia, by 
being placed in a bottle and the fumes inhaled several times a 
day will prove of great benefit. 

The alkaline bath should be used once or twice a week, and 
the skin thoroughly rubbed with a coarse towel. 

The diet should consist of rare roast or broiled beef, oysters, 
eggs, milk, sugar, and all good digestible food, but care should 
be taken to not overload the stomach, and the meals should be 
eaten at regular hours. The utmost care should be used to- 
avoid taking cold ; the clothing should be comfortable, and wool 
worn next to the skin ; the feet kept dry and warm ; the hours of 
. sleep should be regular, and early to bed should be the rule. 

Counter Irritation. —Many times in cases of bronchitis, 
ulceration of the lungs, and other internal difficulties, it is advis¬ 
able to excite irritation on the external surface of the skin so as 
to produce pustules and the discharge of matter. The following; 


is an excellent preparation : 

1$. Croton Oil. 2 drachms. 

Sweet Oil. 2 drachms. 

Spirits Turpentine. 1 drachm. 















COLDS-BLEEDING FROM THE LUNGS. 


89 


Mix, and apply with a feather or camel hair brush, touching the skin 
lightly in spots. If it is desirable to keep up the suppuration, the mixture 
can be applied from time to time as is desired. 

COLDS. 

The symptoms that result from what is called “ taking cold,” 
arise from the arrest of the cutaneous secretions by reason 
of a congested state of the skin or closing of the pores, in con¬ 
sequence of sudden changes of temperature, or being exposed 
to draughts of air. Ordinary colds usually work out their own 
cure after a few days. 

Treatment. —The treatment indicated in the milder attacks 
is to bathe the feet thoroughly in hot mustard water at night, 
and drink freely of warm ginger, composition or pennyroyal tea, 
and cover up warmly in bed, administering 1 or 2 Compound 
Podophyllin Pills on going to bed at night. 

Or the following will usually break up a cold in its early 
stages : 

1$. Spirits of Camphor. 14 drops. 

Fluid Extract Aconite. 8 drops. 

White Sugar. 1 tablespoonfub 

Boiling Water. 2 tablespoonfuls. 

Mix, and having previously bathed the feet in hot mustard water and 
covered warmly in bed, take the whole at a dose, and soon after take 2 or 3 
Compound Podophyllin Pills. Care should be taken to avoid exposure for 
a few days after. 

In severe attacks, the treatment as prescribed under the head 
of “ Acute Bronchitis,” pages 85 and 86, should be followed. 

BLEEDING FROM THE LUNGS. 

Hemorrhage from the lungs rarely occurs except as a result 
of tubercular deposit, and is one of the most certain symptoms 
of consumption. Aside from the general debility, the bleeding 
may be the first indication of any disease of the lungs. In the 
early stage there is no cause for alarm, as the bleeding can be 
readily checked, but in the last stages of consumption, it indi¬ 
cates the breaking down of lung tissue, and points to a speedy 
and fatal termination of the disease. 

Treatment. —The patient should be immediately placed in 
the recumbent position, with the head and shoulders elevated. 






90 


DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 


Place the feet in hot mustard water for a few minutes, and con¬ 
tinue the warmth by vigorous rubbing with the hand. Give 
half teaspoonful of common table salt, dry, every half hour ; a 
little grated nutmeg may be added to the salt with benefit. If 
the bleeding seems presistent, more energetic treatment will be 
required, as follows : Give 10 drops Oil of Erigeron in a tea¬ 
spoonful of syrup, repeating every 20 minutes, until 4 or 5 doses 
have been taken. In addition to this give 2 or 3 drops of Fluid 
Extract of Yeratrum Viride in 1 teaspoonful of water every half 
hour until the bleeding is under control and the violent action 
of the heart is subdued. The Oil of Erigeron and Fluid Ex¬ 
tract Yeratrum Viride used as above, comes as near being a specific 
in controlling bleeding from the lungs as possible, as it scarcely 
ever fails, and they should be procured and kept ready for use by 
all who have had one attack of bleeding. 

To avoid the possibility of a recurrence, the patient should keep 
absolutely quiet for several days after the bleeding. Good food, 
fresh air, change of scene, and the general treatment recom¬ 
mended for consumption/ should be observed. 

Styptic Inhalent. —The Persulphate of Iron, in very fine, 
dry powder, inhaled in small quantity once an hour, will be 
found a powerful styptic to check bleeding from the lungs. May 
be held in the palm of the hand or in any small vessel, and 
drawn into the lungs by the act of breathing. 

ASTHMA. 

There are a number of forms of Asthma, but the symptoms 
most generally occurring under that head are occasioned by a 
muscular contraction of the air-tubes, occasioning difficult breath¬ 
ing and a sense of suffocation, accompanied sometimes with a 
dry cough, and at others by expectoration. The attacks are 
more common during the night time, and sometimes come on 
suddenly, but they are more frequently preceded by loss of 
appetite, flatulence, belching of wind, languor, chilliness, oppres¬ 
sion and drowsiness. The symptoms of the attack can hardly 
be mistaken, especially when the wheezy sound in breathing is 
present. Asthma belongs to that class of diseases that is more 
troublesome than dangerous, as it seldom if ever proves fatal 


ASTHMA. 


91 


unless complicated with other maladies. When once seated it is 
seldom cured, but is relievable by treatment. The principle of 
treatment is by relaxants, or something that will compel the con¬ 
tracting muscles to relax their action. 

Treatment. —As an inhalent, use the following : 


Iodine. 3 grains. 

Iodide of Potassium. 6 grains. 

Tincture of Ipecac. 4 drachms. 

Tincture of Balsam of Tolu. 3 drachms. 

Etherial Tincture of Conium. 45 drops. 

Alcohol.3| ounces. 


Mix, and use 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls in an inhaler (which may be had at any 
•drug store), and which is the only practicable method. But if an inhaler 
cannot be had, add 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls of the mixture to a gill of hot water 
in a saucer, and let the patient inhale 10 or 15 minutes by holding his face 
over it, throwing a cloth over the head to confine the vapor. 

In marked attacks, a lobelia emetic is among the best reme¬ 
dies to relieve the paroxysms, especially where there is derange¬ 
ment of the bowels. Should the symptoms continue after the 
action of the emetic, give the lobelia in small dos r es every half 
hour or oftener, so as to produce nausea but not vomiting. 

Smoking, or inhaling the smoke of various articles, is of great 
value. Among these, stramonium leaves (jimson weed), is among 
the best, but this and other narcotics should not be used where 
there is a tendency to disease of the heart. A safe and very effect¬ 
ive remedy is to saturate paper in a strong solution of saltpetre 
and dry it (the better if dipped and dried two or three times), and 
burn it, inhaling the smoke, or smoke it in a pipe or in the form 
of a cigar. A cup of strong coffee taken every twenty or thirty 
minutes, gives relief many times. A glass of whisky or brandy 
sometimes acts as a palliative. Their best effect is secured by 
taking in hot decoction, to which two or three drops of the oil 
of juniper may be added. Immersing the feet in hot water is a 
valuable aid to internal medication. An attack is sometimes 
averted or relieved by the patient removing the outer clothing 
and toasting the back by a hot fire. When the paroxysms occur 
at regular intervals, with complete intermissions, sulphate of 
quinine in 5 grain doses should be given before each meal, 3 
times each day, which may interrupt them. 

As the prime cause of Asthma is a deranged nervous action, 








92 


DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 


its attacks may be diverted by any means that will restore the 1 
equilibrium of the nervous system, as external frictions and 
applications, change of scene and of temperature and climate, a 
protracted journey or voyage—any unobjectionable alternation 
that will change the currents of thought and vital action and 
give a new direction to the nervous forces. 

The new California remedy, “Grindelia Robusta,” is very 
highly recommended, though it has not had a sufficient trial at 
this writing to be vouched for as unfailing. It may prove to be 
the remedy that has “long been sought for.’’ One physician 
writes that he has used it in a number of cases with unfailing; 
success. The two following formulas are given : 


1. Ib Fluid Extract Grindelia Robusta. 2 ounces. 

Glycerine. 1 ounce. 

Water. 2 ounces. 


Mix, and give 1 teaspoonful every hour till the paroxysm is relieved. 

2. With the view of preventing a return of the disease the fol¬ 
lowing should be administered after the paroxysm, and continued 
several months: 


1$. Iodide Potassium.4 drachms.. 

Fluid Extract Grindelia Robusta.3 ounces* 

Glycerine.3 ounces. 


Mix, and give 1 teaspoonful after each meal and at bed time. 

This new California treatment is inserted here with the hope 1 
that it may be tried, and prove all that is claimed for it. 

Antispasmodic Tincture. —In most cases of Asthma this 
preparation will be sufficient, and where uncomplicated with 
other diseases it not unfrequently effects a cure. The Antispas¬ 
modic Tincture is usually kept ready prepared at drug stores ; 
but with families where there are persons subject to attacks of 
Asthma, it should be prepared by them or procured ready pre¬ 
pared and kept in the house. See formula for preparing on 
page 27. 

CATARRH. 

Nasal Catarrh is usually developed in the cavities of the nose, 
and is an inflammation of the mucous membrane, resulting from 
exposure to severe cold, or suddenly going from a warm into a 
cold atmosphere, or the reverse, and the inhaling of noxious* 








CHRONIC CATARRH. 


93 


yapors and gases. When the disease becomes chronic it advances 
by feeding upon the tissues and cartilages of the nose, throat, 
larynx, and sometimes extending to the lungs. When there is 
a taint of syphillis in the blood, there may be a purulent discharge 
of an exceedingly offensive odor, and in some cases the breath is 
so fetid that its offensive character is detected in any room where 
the person afflicted may be. These are, however, the more seri¬ 
ous effects—ordinary cases will readily yield to proper remedies. 

Treatment. —Attention to diet, protecting the person from 
eold and sudden changes, and keeping the bowels regular, are 
all important measures to be observed. When the symptoms of 
Catarrh are first noticed the patient should take the Compound 
Podophyllin Pill in sufficient doses to thoroughly move the 
bowels, and use the Spirit Yapor Bath ; at the same time placing 
the feet in hot mustard water, and immediately afterwards cov¬ 
ering warmly in bed. A hot whisky toddy made with lemons 
and sugar, may be drank freely, and in addition Fluid Extract 
of Aconite should be taken in 1 drop doses in a teaspoonful of 
water every half hour, until free perspiration takes place. The 
patient will usually awaken in the morning entirely free from 
nil symptoms. Sulphate of Quinine in 5 grain doses should be 
taken night and morning for a week or two after. This treat¬ 
ment is about all that is necessary to break up a hard Catarrh 
in its forming stage. 

CHRONIC CATARRH. 

This may result from an acute attack, or other causes, but 
the symptoms are the same as the Acute, only more aggravated. 
So many failures have been made in treating Chronic Catarrh 
that many people believe that it is incurable. During the sum¬ 
mer months, the disease not being aggravated by changeable 
weather, lies dormant, and usually no treatment is had. As soon 
as inclement weather commences the disease is aggravated, and 
the patient consults a physician ; fresh colds are constantly being 
added, and little benefit is derived, hence it will be seen that it 
is necessary to have treatment during the warm months. 

Treatment. —It is important to observe that no application 
-should be made to the throat or nasal passages on a wet or cold 
day, if the patient is obliged to be out. 


94 


DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 


The following inhalents can be used without the assistance of 
a physician: 

Salt dissolved in water and snuffed up the nostrils 2 or 3 times 
a day, and also used as a gargle, is a good remedy. 

The following is better, however: Take 10 drops of pure 
Carbolic Acid, add 5 teaspoonfuls of tepid soft water, and snuff 
up the nostrils 2 or three times each day. A teaspoonful of the 
solution may be held to one nostril, and while the other is 
closed with the finger, the head is thrown back while the fluid 
is snuffed up. This may be repeated 2 or 3 times in each nostril 
during the one treatment. The solution should also be used 
as a gargle, thoroughly cleansing the throat and larynx. 

Another good remedy is the following: Take equal parts of 
Carbolic Acid and Aqua Ammonia, mix together, have ready a 
wide-mouthed bottle in which there is packed sufficient cotton 
batting to absorb the mixture ; thus prepared, the bottle may be 
held under the nostrils; one nostril being closed, the fumes 
should be drawn, first in one nostril, then into the other,, 
repeating several times, until the effects can be felt in the upper 
portion of the nasal cavities. This can be used 2 or 3 times 
each day with benefit. 

Smoking Cubeb berries in a pipe has been found beneficial. 

In all severe cases, especially when associated with a syphillitic 
taint, the services of a physician are required, as the Carbolic 
Acid, Nitrate of Silver and other local remedies must be thrown 
into the nasal and other cavities with a Catarrhal Syringe or by 
the Hand Atomizer. At the same time alteratives to act on the 
blood will be required, so prepared as to meet the indications 
of each individual case. 

Catarrh Cough, to Believe. —The troublesome cough 
caused by an accumulation of phlegm in the throat, especially 
in the morning, experienced mostly by persons affected with 
Chronic Catarrh, can be relieved by taking a teaspoonful of the 
following mixture, which has also the advantage of being harm¬ 
less to the stomach, rather improving the appetite : Put into an 
8-ounce vial, one-half ounce muriate of ammonia and one-half 
ounce pulverized gum-liquorice; fill the vial nearly full with 
hot water, and shake thoroughly, to prevent the liquorice from 
becoming solid; shake also before using. 


INFLUENZA. 


95 


Catarrh Powder. —Saltpetre 1 part, and loaf sugar 2 parts, 
made into a fine powder in a mortar, and snuffed up the nose 
frequently during the day, will afford relief in many cases of 
Catarrh. 

Catarrh Snuff. —Dried asarabacca leaves, 3 parts ; marjoram, 
1 part; lavender flowers, 1 part; rub together to a powder. 

INFLUENZA. 

This may be described as an epidemic affecting the people of 
large districts of country, and is doubtless due to some peculiar 
condition of the atmosphere. 

The disease commences with a feeling of chilliness, alternating 
with flashes of heat, or by a decided chill, which is at once fol¬ 
lowed by fever. As a rule the fever is slight, but in some cases 
it may be very marked, accompanied by a severe frontal head¬ 
ache, which extends into the eyes, with all the symptoms of 
acute catarrh. The nose is dry and hot, and the nasal cavities 
obstructed, soon followed by an increased flow of mucous and 
sometimes by bleeding. The eyes are inflamed and watery; the 
throat feels dry, hot and irritated ; and the mucous membrane 
of the throat, mouth and tongue is thickened and inflamed; fre¬ 
quent sneezing, followed by a cough and increased secretion. 
The symptoms vary according to the mildness or severity of the 
attack. 

Treatment. —Sulphate Quinine in 5 grain doses should be 
given 3 times daily from the beginning of the disease to its 
termination. 

The following should be administered to control the fever and 
relieve the pain in the head : 


1$. Fluid Extract Gelseminum. 2 drachms. 

Fluid Extract Aconite. 20 drops. 

Water. 4 ounces. 


Mix, and give 1 teaspoonful every hour until the symptoms are relieved 
and free perspiration is produced. The action of the medicine can be 
assisted by bathing the feet in mustard water as hot as it can be borne, after 
which the patient should be warmly covered in bed and a drink of hot herb 
tea, catnip, pennyroyal, or boneset may be used. Attention should be paid 
to the bowels, by giving the Compound Powder of Jalap in sufficient doses 
to produce one or two evacuations each day. 





96 


DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 


The Severe Catarrhal Symptoms may be relieved by the 


following inhalent: 

I?. Carbolic Acid.2 drachms. 

Aqua Ammonia. 2 drachms. 


Mix in a wide mouthed bottle, and then pack into the bottle enough cot¬ 
ton-batting to absorb the mixture; the bottle is then corked for use. When 
the cork is removed, the bottle may be held under the nostrils and the fumes 
inhaled until they can be felt penetrating the upper portion of the nasal 
passages. This will loosen the mucous and afford immediate relief. 

When the disease has passed its crisis let the diet be nutritious 
and moderately free; the moderate use of stimulants will also 
prove advantageous. Remain quietly in the house, and do not 
venture out so long as a feeling of chilliness is experienced by 
going into the open air. 

ACUTE PLEURISY. 

The membrane that lines the chest and forms a covering for 
the lungs is called the pleura, and the disease called Pleurisy is 
an inflammation of the pleura. The attack is attended with 
chills and fever and quick pulse; sharp pain in the side like 
stabbing with a knife, usually just below the nipple, but some¬ 
times shifting to the armpit, shoulder or back ; hurried and dif¬ 
ficult breathing; short, dry cough. Where the patient suffers 
much, he usually lies on the well side or on his back, many 
times giving audible expression to his sense of pain. The first 
effect of Pleurisy is to create a dryness on the surface of the 
pleura so as to interrupt its easy action, or slipping, upon the 
internal surface in the act of breathing. This is followed in 
from forty-eight to sixty hours after the first attack by a dis¬ 
charge of a watery fluid from the inflamed membrane, called “ the 
period of effusion.” When this stage is reached the patient is 
usually much easier, and will rest on the affected side so as to 
have a free use of the well lung. The watery effusion however, 
lying between the lung and the ribs on the diseased side, com¬ 
presses the lung and causes difficulty of breathing. If the effu¬ 
sion has been but slight it will probably be re-absorbed into the 
parts without serious inconvenience to the patient; but if it has 
been profuse it may work its way through the tissue of the lung 
into the bronchial tube and be discharged by expectoration ; or 
it may be necessary to make an opening from the external surface 




ACUTE PLEURISY—CHRONIC PLEURISY. 


97 


through the walls of the chest by which the fluid may be dis¬ 
charged. Or, the application of a counter irritant on the exter¬ 
nal surface by means to be hereafter described may accomplish 
the gradual removal of the effused substance. 

Treatment. —Upon an attack of Pleurisy, the first step is to 
check the inflammation and prevent the effusion. For this pur¬ 
pose use the Spirit Vapor Bath in addition to the following 
treatment, if the condition of the patient will admit. Place the 
feet in hot mustard water for fifteen or twenty minutes, then 
place the patient in bed, and apply the Hop Fomentation (see page 
24), over the seat of pain, and keep it on as long as it can be 
borne. Give the following : 


3$. Compound Virginia Snake Root. 3 ounces. 

Fluid Extract Pleurisy Root. 1 ounce. 

Fluid Extract Veratrum Viride.30 drops. 


Mix, and administer 1 teaspoonful every hour until the skin becomes 
moist, when it may be given every 4 hours. 

After the effusion has taken place, and the fever has subsided, 
the following should be given and continued until the patient is 


■convalescent: 

R. Fluid Extract Pleurisy Root.4 ounces. 

Sulphate of Quinine. 1 drachm. 

Acetate Potash. 2 drachms. 

Brandy.2 ounces. 


Mix, and give 1 teaspoonful 3 times each day. The bowels should be 
kept active by the Compound Powder of Jalap, until the effusion has dis* 
Appeared. 

Stimulants and nutritious food should be given from the com¬ 
mencement of the disease, so as to sustain the system against the 
great prostration that usually attends its later stage. 

Pleurisy is a disease attended with great danger, and while the 
treatment is given above, it is of the utmost importance to con¬ 
sult a physician when severe symptoms develop. 

CHRONIC PLEURISY. 

This may succeed as a sequence of acute pleurisy. It may also 
form slowly without evident symptoms, in which case it will 
likely be marked by vague pains in the chest, small, dry cough, 
shivering, with symptoms of fever, hardness of pulse, etc. The 
spaces between the ribs appear full, or may protrude slightly. 









98 


DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 


and a fluctuating or flowing motion, as of water in a sack, may 
occasionally be felt. When the fever is of a hectic type, with 
night sweats, it is unfavorable. 

Treatment. —The effused or enlarged part may find relief 
by either of the means suggested in acute pleurisy. A counter 
irritant should be applied on the external surface, for which the 
Compound Tar Plaster will be found the best. It should remain 
until pus forms and commences to discharge, when it may be 
discontinued for a few days, and then applied again for a week 
or so. 

Give internally the Compound Fluid Extract of Stillingia (see 
page 39), in teaspoonful doses 3 times each day, half an hour 
before meals, adding to each dose 10 grains acetate of potassa. 
This will stimulate the absorbents to take up the effused fluid, 
as well as aid the action of the kidneys. 

The following prescription should be prepared and adminis¬ 


tered until the cough is removed : 

I£. Fluid Extract of Lobelia. 3 drachms. 

Fluid Extract Aconite. 1 drachm. 

Fluid Extract Virginia Snake Root. 4 drachms. 

Syrup of Tolu. 6 ounces. 


f Mix. Dose.—O ne teaspoonful 3 times daily. 

Should the bowels not move regularly, the Compound Podo- 
phyllin Pill should be given, one or two each night, or sufficient 
to produce one or two evacuations daily. The diet should con¬ 
sist of nutritious and easily digestible food, and in case of debil¬ 
ity moderate stimulants may be taken, as ale, porter, wine, or 
decoctions of stronger liquors, unless counterindicated by the 
presence of fever. 

QUINSY—INFLAMMATORY SORE THROAT. 

Quinsy most generally manifests itself as an inflammation of 
the tonsils, and arises from the same causes that produce other 
local inflammations, as of the throat, lungs, pleura, and kidneys, 
namely, sudden exposure to cold, wet feet or clothing, cold or 
damp apartments, etc. It may also arise from excesses in eating 
and drinking, and from substances lodging in the throat. It is 
also at times epidemic, like influenza. The first local symptoms 
are soreness, with difficulty of swallowing and breathing, enlarge- 






QUINSY—ENLARGED TONSILS. 


99 


ment of the tonsils, and swelling of the back part of the throat. 
There are sensations of heat and chills. These symptoms increase 
as the disease advances; the speech becomes indistinct; the 
throat very dry, with great thirst; fluids attempted to be swal¬ 
lowed are sometimes ejected through the nose; the tongue 
swells, the pulse is full and frequent. In violent attacks there 
is deafness; eyes red, swollen and watery; cheeks florid and 
swollen ; the patient sometimes unable to open the mouth; the 
difficulty of breathing is such that the patient has to be sup¬ 
ported in an upright posture. 

Treatment. —The bowels should he freely moved by giving 
full doses of the Compound Powder of Jalap as often as is neces¬ 
sary to produce two or three evacuations each day. To control 
the fever, the following should be given : 


1$. Fluid Extract Aconite.30 drops. 

Water. 4 ounces. 


Mix, and give a teaspoonful every £ hour, until the skin is moist; after 
that give 1 teaspoonful every 1 or 2 hours, until the inflammatory symptoms 
have entirely disappeared. 

External Treatment. —The Hop Fomentation (see page 
24), should be applied, covering the throat well from ear to ear, 
and extending well down upon the collar and breast bones. Or 
a poultice of roasted onions will be good if the vinegar and hops 
are not at hand. 

An inhalent, made by steeping a handful of hops in a pint 
of vinegar, should be used, to be inhaled by the mouth instead 
of by the nostrils. Or the liquid may be taken tolerably hot 
into the mouth, held well up against the palafce, and allowed to 
flow a little into the nose, then ejecting it from the mouth. 
The patient may with advantage swallow frequently a mixture 
of lemon juice and honey, allowing it to pass slowly over the parts. 
A gargle composed of 10 grains tannic acid in 6 ounces of 
water, mixing them fully, may be used once in half an hour with 
advantage. 


ENLARGED TONSILS. 

An enlargement of the Tonsils, or “Almonds of the Ear,” as 
they are called, results from various causes, and is attended with 
some inconveniences and dangers. 




100 DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND THROAT. 

Treatment. —Attend to the general health, as wholesome 
and digestible food, bathing, proper clothing, avoidance of colds, 
regularity of the bowels, etc. Either of the following prepara¬ 
tions may be applied to the tonsils daily, morning and evening, 
for 3 or 4 months, by means of a small brush : 


1. 1$. Iodine. 1 scruple. 

Sweet Oil. 1 ounce. 

Mix. 

2. 3$. Tannic Acid. 10 grains. 

Common Salt. 20 grains. 


Mix, and rub with vaseline to make an ointment. 

Or the dried powder of Sesqui-carbonate of Potassa may be 
applied every day or two by means of a camel hair brush. 

Should the glands of the neck be enlarged, apply tincture of 
iodine once or twice a day with a camel hair brush. 

BRONCHOCELE—GOITRE. 

This disease is a chronic enlargement of the thyroid gland of 
the neck. A small tumor is observed at first on one or both 
sides of the trachia ; or it may be confined wholly to the isthmus 
of the gland. There is no pain, fluctuation or unnatural appear¬ 
ance of the skin, and no derangement of the general health. It 
is of slow growth, many times remaining stationary for several 
years, and then commencing to grow again. 

Treatment. —This should be both local and constitutional. 
A small quantity of the following preparation should be rubbed 
over the tumor once or twice a day : 


Iodine.4 dracbins. 

Iodide of Ammonium. 3 drachms. 


Dissolve by rubbing in a mortar and gradually adding 8 ounces alcohol; 
then to this add 4 ounces pure glycerine, shaking the solution well together. 
In conjunction with this an electro-magnetic current should be passed 
through the tumor daily. Internally the following should be taken: 


1$. Iodide of Ammonium. 1 ounce. 

Compound Fluid Extract Stillingia. 8 ounces 


Mix, and give 1 teaspoonful 3 times daily, 1 hour before meals. 

The above course of treatment, if taken in time, will effect a 
reduction of the tumor, but if it is allowed to run too long its 
removal is doubtful by this or any other known treatment. 










DYSPEPSIA OR INDIGESTION. 


101 


DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 

Few people are aware how intimately the stomach is related to 
the general health, not only as regards the physical well being, 
but the mind and temper also. Although the more common 
diseases of the stomach and bowels are treated under this head 
collectively, it is proper to remark that there are few diseases of 
the bowels that do not arise primarily in the stomach. 

DYSPEPSIA OR INDIGESTION. 

When we touch upon this topic, it involves so wide a 
range of human ills that it is almost a despairing task to 
think of treating it, and it can only be done so in a 
general way. A person may have some local disease, and 
yet the general health continue good. One may be brought to 
death’s door with some acute disease, and yet recovery be com¬ 
plete. A person may suffer the loss of a limb, or of all the 
limbs, and the body continue in vigor. But if one has Dyspep¬ 
sia, he has it all over, and has it in all shapes, and if there is 
any disorder that he hasn’t got, he will think he has it. Dys¬ 
pepsia is the thousand-headed dragon, with a thousand glaring 
eyes, forked tongues and threatening fangs, that poison and ter¬ 
rorize the life of its victim. Dyspepsia is .the parent of a whole 
brood of nervous diseases, including nervous palpitation of the 
heart, that is often mistaken for organic disease of the heart. 
It deranges the action of the liver and kidneys. It sours the 
temper, and not only unfits its victim for enjoying the society 
of his fellows, but makes his society undesirable to others. 

The principal inducing causes of Dyspepsia are : Sedentary 
habits; eating too much of rich food and confections ; putting 
too great a variety of articles on the stomach at one time ; nib¬ 
bling between meals, whether of food, nuts, fruits or confections; 
late suppers; eating in too great haste; eating when under 
excitement, whether of expectation, hope, anger, fear, or disap¬ 
pointment ; indigestible food and improperly cooked food; 
indulgence of the sexual appetite immediately before or soon 
after meals ; much thinking and mental labor. 


102 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 

Treatment. —One of the most important measures is to 
avoid the causes that produce the disease. Too much attention 
cannot be paid to the diet. The patient should note what arti¬ 
cles of food disagree with the digestion, and discontinue their 
use. When distention of the stomach and acid eructations are 
present, it would be well to abstain entirely from food for 24 
hours, drinking 3 or 4 times during the day a tumbler full of hot 
water. The object of this is to give the stomach rest and free 
it from its decomposing contents. If the hot water should pro¬ 
duce vomiting, it will be all the better. The following prescrip¬ 
tion should be prepared by a druggist: 


1$. Sulphate Strychnia. 1 grain. 

Dilute Muriatic Acid. 3 drops. 

Water. 4 ounces. 


Mix, and administer 1 teaspoonful half an hour before meals, 3 times 
each day for one week; then have prepared the following, and take in place 


of the above the following week : 

1$. Fluid Extract Golden Seal. 1 ounce. 

Pure Glycerine. 3 ounces. 

Carbolic Acid. 30 drops. 


Mix, and take 1 teaspoonful 3 times each day immediately after meals; 
and thus continue week after week; one preparation one week, and the 
other the next. This treatment should be continued for several weeks. 

Swallowing the juice of a lemon half an hour before breakfast 
will relieve acidity of the stomach and heartburn, and will aid 
the digestion. If the system is in a debilitated condition, and 
especially if a pain is felt immediately after eating, half an ounce 
of good bourbon whisky will be beneficial, and give relief. A 
larger quantity must not be taken, as it will produce harm by 
precipitating the pepsin of the gastric juice. Some light table 
wine taken with the evening meal will prove beneficial in most 
cases, but it must not be taken to excess. Exercise and agree¬ 
able associations should be cultivated; change of occupation 
and surroundings to those more congenial should be made when 
practicable. 


CONSTIPATION. 

A person to enjoy good health should have a free evacuation 
of the bowels once every 24 hours, and without such regularity, 
a feeling of distress in the stomach, a fullness of the lower bowel. 








CONSTIPATION-PILES. 103 

depression of spirits, headache, and many other symptoms that 
follow will render the person unfit for the enjoyment of life. 

There are many causes for habitual constipation; the liver 
may be diseased, or the bile fail to be secreted, or may be 
obstructed in its passage by gall stones; or it may arise from the 
free use of purgative medicines, which in nearly all cases aggra¬ 
vate instead of relieving. One of the most common causes of 
Constipation is a failure to obey the demands of nature, by post¬ 
poning the call to a more convenient time or place. 

Treatment. —Take 10 drops Fluid Extract of Podophyllum 
in 1 tablespoonful of water, and repeat the dose every 12 hours 
until the bowels are relieved; after this take 5 or 10 drops at 
night as often as may be necessary to move the bowels. At 
once form the habit of going to stool at a regular fixed time; 
half an hour after breakfast is the best, as the food taken into 
the stomach stimulates the peristallic action of the entire canal. 
If the bowels still remain inactive, an injection of warm water 
and soap, with a tablespoonful of molasses, may be used, throw- 
into the bowel a pint or more, retaining it as long as possible. 
Neither the medicine or injection should be used any longer 
than actually necessary, but gradually diminished in frequency 
and quantity till the Constipation is relieved. 

Tonic Bitters for Constipation. —Take 20 grains Podo- 
phyllin, 1 ounce tincture of Cinchona, and 1 pint of sherry wine. 
Mix. Dose.— One teaspoonful 2 or 3 times a day. 

PILES. 

A disease of the rectum, caused by an effusion of blood in the 
lower bowel. Everything that irritates the bowel and causes a 
determination of blood to the part, and especially all drastic 
cathartics, as aloes, that occasion a straining when at stool, should 
be avoided, and for this reason most of the patent pills are 
objectionable because of the aloes which they contain. 

Habitual constipation, riding much on horseback, sitting a 
great deal, tight lacing, high-seasoned food, lifting and carrying 
heavy weights, and stimulants of all kinds, are inducing causes 
of Piles. 

Treatment. —For diet, oatmeal is among the best articles, 
with corn bread, unbolted wheat flour, mush and milk, buck- 


104 


DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 


wheat cakes, broths and lean meats. Daily injections of cold 
water into the bowel tend to give the part tone and strength. 
The cold hip bath will also be found beneficial. 

Pile Confection. —One of the best internal remedies for 
Piles is compounded as follows : 


1$. Sulphur. 2 ounces. 

Cream of Tartar. 1 ounce. 

Powdered Guaic . 1 drachm. 

Powdered Rhubarb. 2 drachms. 

Aromatic Confection . 2 drachms. 


Honey, a sufficient quantity to make a paste-like dough. Dose.—A 
piece the size of an almond night and morning. 

Pile Ointment.— The following pile ointment should be 
used at the same time : 


R. Tannic Acid. 30 grains. 

Carbolic Acid. 20 grains. 

Sulphate Morphia. 5 grains. 

Vaseline. 2 ounces. 


Mix all thoroughly together and use as follows: First, have a vessel of 
moderately cool water and wash the protruding parts well, and at the same 
time sit in the water for a few minutes, then wipe dry and anoint the parts 
well with the ointment, and if the tumor drops down, replace it by gentle 
pressure. In this manner make the application 2 or 3 limes daily until 
cured. 

Another Remedy for Piles. —Pulverize in a mortar and 
mix thoroughly, 1 ounce each of cream of tartar, jalap, senna, 
flowers of sulphur, and golden seal, and one-half ounce saltpetre.. 
Dose.— A teaspoonful 3 times a day. Also sit in a tub of cold 
water 4 or 5 times a day, 30 minutes each time, for a month. 

DIARRHEA. 

Diarrhea frequently ensues as a corrective of some morbid 
condition of the stomach or bowels, and unless it is severe and 
greatly depleting it may (except in seasons of summer complaint 
or cholera), safely be allowed to run its course for a day or so with¬ 
out treatment other than some mild stimulant taken into the 
stomach, a light, easily digestible diet (milk porridge is excel¬ 
lent), and care not to aggravate it by exertion or exposure. 
With many persons a change of weather, as to raw and damp, is 
attended with Diarrhea, for which the precautions above will 
be all that will be needed. 











DIARRHEA-BILIOUS COLIC. 


105 


Diarrhea may come through derangement of the stomach by 
reason of a morbid state of the liver. It may also come from 
exposures to heat and cold, from a careless eating of acid and 
unripe fruits and indigestible substances, from overloading the 
stomach, from worms, a too free use of liquors, especially the 
stronger malt liquors, as a sequence of some other disease, and 
from mental causes, as depression, sudden fright, etc. 

Treatment. —When there is an acid condition of the stom¬ 
ach, especially with children, the Compound Syrup of Rhubarb 
and Potassa is among the best remedies, and to each tablespoon¬ 
ful of this may be added ten to fifteen drops essence of pepper¬ 
mint and thirty to forty drops paregoric. For children the pro¬ 
portions should be less. 

When the passages are painful, a bland injection after each 
evacuation will be found of advantage, as say one part Com¬ 
pound Tincture of Virginia Snake Root to eight parts water; or,, 
a mixture of one part Castor Oil to two parts each warm water 1 
and molasses, to which a few drops of laudanum may be added. 
This mixture will also be greatly improved by adding a table¬ 
spoonful of starch to a pint of the mixture, allowing it to dis¬ 
solve before using. 

Should there be severe pain in the stomach, apply a mustard 
poultice over the region ; and if in the bowels, apply over them 
a hot fomentation, as hops, tansy, wormwood, etc., steeped ini 
hot water or hot vinegar. 

Attend to the skin, using the Alkaline Bath, and m cases 
where the trouble arises from exposure to cold or wet, the 
Spirit Vapor Bath may be serviceable. (See “ Baths and Bath¬ 
ing.”) 

For diet, the more nourishing foods prescribed under the head 
“ Cookery for the Sick,” may be given. Fats, acids, all hard 
fibrous vegetables, unripe fruits, etc., must be avoided, as well 
as malt liquors of all kinds, but spiced wine or brandy-water 
may be taken. 


BILIOUS COLIC. 

This disease is usually preceded by derangement of the stom¬ 
ach and bowels, loss of appetite, bitter taste in the mouth, white 
or yellow fur on the tongue, chilliness, nausea, vomiting, and a 

7 


106 


DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 


sensation of weight or heaviness at the pit of the stomach. The 
more advanced symptoms are severe pains, either in the stomach 
or bowels, of a cutting, screwing character, that are the more 
painful on pressure, yellow fur on the tongue, vomiting of bil¬ 
ious matter, swelling and tenderness of the bowels, great thirst, 
etc. The disease is dangerous, and should be treated without 
delay. A sudden cessation of pain, cold sweats, a weak, tremu¬ 
lous pulse, faintings, and hiccough, indicate a fatal termination. 

Treatment. —The following injection should be used as soon 


:as possible : 

Wine of Ipecac. 1 ounce. 

Spirits of Turpentine. 1 ounce. 

Castor Oil. 1 ounce. 

Molasses. £ pint. 

Warm Water. £ pint. 


Mix, and throw about one-half of this into the bowels, retaining it as long 
as possible, and repeating until a free movement takes place. 

The stomach and bowels should be covered with the Hop 
Fomentation as prescribed on page 24. At the same time induce 
perspiration by soaking the feet in warm water, and by hot bricks 
or bottles applied to the limbs and body. Also give internally at 
the same time a strong decoction of Dioscorein (Wild Yam). Two 
or three tablespoonfuls of the decoction may be taken every half 
hour until the patient is relieved. A fluid extract of Dioscorein 
may be procured at most drug stores ; of this the dose is from a 
half to one teaspoonful in hot water. The following forms an 


excellent combination: 

]}. Fluid Extract Dioscorein.. 2 ounces. 

Fluid Extract Ginger. . 2 ounces. 

Tinct. Capsicum. 1 ounce. 


Mix. Dose. —One teaspoonful in £ teacupful of hot water, repeating 
every 15 or 20 minutes until relieved. In the absence of the dioscorein 
extract, take 1 teaspoonful of fluid extract of ginger in 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls 
of hot water; or by adding 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls of brandy or whisky, it 
will be improved. Or if none of these are at hand, drink hot lemonade, or 
give a teaspoonful of castor oil every hour until 3 or 4 teaspoonfuls are 
taken. 

The above treatment should be followed with a mild cathartic; 
castor oil is the best. To remove a predisposition to the disease, 
have the following pill prepared by a druggist: 










STOMACH COMPLAINTS. 


10T 


B. Extract of High Cranberry Bark. 1 scruple. 

Extract of Aletridin.2 drachms. 

Dioscorein. 1 scruple. 

Capsicum. 1 scruple. 


Mix, and make into 4 grain pills. Dose. —One pill about an hour after 
each meal for 3 or 4 months. A reasonable amount of outdoor exercise 
should be taken, and a sponge bath with friction be employed daily. 

WIND IN THE STOMACH. 

Wind in the Stomach, or belching of wind, is caused by an 
.acid condition of the stomach. The following will give prompt 
relief: 


R. Fluid Extract Ginger. 1 ounce. 

Simple Syrup. 1 ounce. 

Carbonate of Soda.... 1 drachm. 


Mix. Dose. —One teaspoonful in sweetened water, repeated every 1 or 2 
hours if necessary. 


CRAMP IN THE STOMACH. 

This is sometimes of a dangerous character, being a sudden, 
violent and most painful spasmodic action of the muscular coat 
of the stomach, with a sense of constriction in that region. 
Rubbing the surface over the stomach with a mixture of equal 
parts of laudanum, camphor, essence of peppermint, and oil of 
amber, or any of them, will afford relief. The Compound Life 
Drops should be administered in thirty drop doses every fifteen 
or twenty minutes until relieved. Or, the following : 


3$. Tincture of Camphor. 4 drachms. 

Chloroform. 3 drachms. 

Tincture of Capsicum. 20 drops. 


Mix, and take a teaspoonful in water (or brandy is best), every hour until 
relief is had. 


BLEEDING FROM THE STOMACH. 

Bleeding from the stomach may be distinguished from bleed¬ 
ing from the lungs by the blood being vomited or thrown up 
without any coughing or hawking, and by the expelled matter 
being usually mixed with the contents of the stomach. 

Treatment. —The patient should be placed in a recumbent 
position, with the head and chest partly raised. Pounded ice in 
n bag should be placed over the stomach, and small bits of ice 












108 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 

swallowed frequently. Cold alum whey, half a tumblerful,, 
taken every 15 or 20 minutes, will aid materially in controlling 
the bleeding. If the bleeding still continues, 5 grains of ergot- 
ine shoull be injected under the skin with a hyperdermic 
syringe, and repeated every half hour till the bleeding is 
checked. 

To prevent a recurrence of the bleeding, Muriate Tincture of 
Iron should be taken, 10 drops in a tablespoonful of water 3 times 
a day, and continued for several weeks. 

No stronger diet than gruel, rice or barley water, should be 
given until after the bleeding has been checked, when the 
stronger articles of diet prescribed under the head of “ Cookery 
for the Sick” may be taken, with eggs, oysters, soups, etc., but 
avoiding stronger and more solid food until the tone of the 
stomach is re-established. Wine and spirit stimulants and tonics 
may be suggested by the symptoms, but as a rule it is best not 
to give them unless there is considerable weakness and debility. 

If there is constipation, sallow skin, yellowness of the eyes, etc., 
in connection with the hemorrhage, the liver and spleen are 
involved, and treatment should be had to relieve those organs. 

HEARTBURN. 

Although called Heartburn, this affection has no connection 
with the heart, but arises from the stomach, or by reason of 
special influences acting upon that organ. Usually it is due to 
excessive acidity of the stomach; it is common with women 
from the fourth to the eighth month of pregnancy; and it is- 
sometimes caused by irritating substances in the bowels. People 
who manifest a disposition to eat chalk, magnesia, coal, and 
other substances having strong alkaline properties, have heart¬ 
burn, the alkaline quality being relished as an antidote to the 
acidity of the stomach. 

Treatment. —Where the difficulty is due to acidity, tempo¬ 
rary relief may be obtained by the use of chalk, soda, magnesia, 
lime water, etc. A continued use of these substances, however, 
is liable to impair the tone of the stomach. Carbonate of 
ammonia, is sometimes used with benefit. Where there is con¬ 
stipation, the bowels should be moved by some laxative, the 
Compound Syrup of Rhubarb and Potassa being excellent,. 


HEARTBURN-NIGHTMARE. 


109 


Ginger may be taken in connection with the alkaline substances 
with benefit, especially with females. But sometimes pregnant 
females will be benefited by acids, as solutions of tartaric or citric 
acid, lemon juice, elixir of vitriol, etc. 

When the trouble arises from dyspepsia, it will disappear as 
the dyspeptic symptoms are removed. 

NIGHTMARE. 

This is a species of frightful dream, no particular description 
of which is necessary. Nervous and dyspeptic persons, and 
those who lead a sedentary or indolent life, are most subject to 
it. Anxiety of mind, profound meditation, fatigue, intemper¬ 
ance, constipation, late suppers and indigestible food, are induc¬ 
ing causes. The attack is more likely to occur when a person 
sleeps lying on the back. The nature of the spasm occasions a 
struggle on the part of the victim to free himself from the sup¬ 
posed danger or terror, and as soon as some degree of muscular 
action is established the attack passes off. The first important 
thing is to avoid the causes that lead to the attack, and as an 
aid to this, some medication will be of service. 

Treatment. —When persons are subject to nightmare from 
flatulency and acid stomach, the following will prove an ex¬ 
cellent remedy: 


1$. Essence of Peppermint. 10 drops. 

Carbonate of Potassa. 10 grains. 

Tincture of Capsicum. 5 drops. 

Water. 1 ounce. 


IVlix for a draught before going to bed. 

Those who are habitually subject to nightmare should not 
sleep in a room alone, but have some person near, to arouse them 
when attacked. A person is most liable to nightmare when 
sleeping on the back; in fact, it rarely occurs in any other 
posture. Those subject to it should therefore avoid sleep¬ 
ing in a bed which is hollow in the centre, as this induces the 
sleeper to lie on his back. The bed should be level and not too 
soft, and the pillow moderate in thickness, so that the head is 
not raised too high. 






110 


DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 


DROPSY. 

The essential symptom that determines Dropsy is a collection 
of a watery fluid in some part of the body. It is called Dropsy, 
or Hydrops, meaning water-drops, from “ hydro,” water. The 
disease may be a dropsy of some part, as of the brain, head,, 
chest, heart, uterus, abdomen, scrotum, etc., or a general dropsy, 
manifesting itself in a collection of the watery fluid under the 
skin, which may be confined to the extremities or extend over 
the whole surface. A general dropsy begins with a swelling of 
the feet and ankles, more apparent at night after the person 
has been walking or standing much through the day, and less so 
in the morning after the recumbent rest of the night. As the 
disease advances, the watery accumulation extends upward, very 
much on the principle of slowly filling a suspended sack with 
water, until sometimes the face and eyelids appear bloated and 
swollen, especially in the morning. In some cases the fluid 
filters out through the skin, and sometimes it forces the skin up 
in elevations resembling blisters. In the later stages the patient is 
compelled to keep a sitting posture, lest the fluid, flowing upon 
the lungs, cause drowning or suffocation, and sometimes water 
is thrown from the lungs by coughing and expectoration. 

The disease is curable in many of its stages, if the causes pro¬ 
ducing it are removed, but when it arises from heart disease, or 
structural disease of the kidneys or any of the abdominal organs,, 
it will most likely prove fatal. 

Treatment. —The remedies are mainly diuretics and hydra- 
gogue cathartics. By the proper administration of these, the* 
bowels can be reduced from enormous size to proper proportions 
in a few days. For the removal of the accumulated water in 
the abdominal cavity the following prescription will prove effica¬ 


cious : 

]$. Powdered Jalap. 3 drachms. 

Cream of Tartar. 6 drachms. 

Elaterium.. 6 grains. 

Capsicum. 24 grains. 


Mix thoroughly and divide into 24 powders. Dose. —One powder every 
2 hours, until copious watery discharges from the bowels are produced ; 
after this 1 powder three times daily may be taken until the 24 powders are 
used. 






DROPSY-WORMS. 


Ill 


Cream of tartar, one teaspoonful in half a tumbler of water 
for each dose, may be taken three or four times a day with great 
benefit. Care should be taken to swallow all the cream of tartar 
and not leave any sediment in the tumbler. This can be used as 
a regular drink for weeks or months. After the watery accumu¬ 
lations have been carried off, the Compound Infusion of Parsley 
(see page 31) should be used daily for several weeks, in order to 
prevent a return of the disease. 

The alkaline sponge bath, using considerable friction with a 
coarse towel, or rubbing with the hand, should be applied daily 
to the surface of the body and limbs. Exercise does much 
toward keeping up an active circulation and reducing the 
watery effusion. Kneading the bowels once a day after the fluid 
has commenced to disappear, has an excellent effect, especially 
if after each time a liniment is applied composed of equal parts 
of oils of Juniper, Sassafras, Cajeput, and Spearmint. 

A broad bandage worn around the bowels, gradually increas¬ 
ing its pressure as the water diminishes, will enable the sluggish 
vessels to regain their natural tone and vigor. 

The diet should be nourishing, but the strictest temperance 
must be observed in both eating and drinking, avoiding all 
articles that may have a tendency to cause a return of the 
disease. 

If the above treatment fails to give relief, the fluid should be 
removed by tapping, but this should only be resorted to when the 
breathing becomes oppressive. No one but an experienced 
physician should be trusted to use the trocar or canula. This 
will afford decided relief for a time. By using the cathartics 
first prescribed above, it will be some time before the abdomen 
will again fill. 

WORMS. 

The worms found in the human body are mostly the ascarides, 
and the thread worm, infesting the lower intestine, causing much 
itching and irritation about the anus. The teres, or long round 
worms, are generally located in the small intestines and stomach. 
The symptoms denoting the existence of worms are common to 
the different species, viz.: indigestion, with a variable appetite ; 
foul tongue; offensive breath; hard, full, and tense abdomen, 
with occasional gripings and pains about the navel; heat and 


112 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 

itching sensation in the rectum and about the anus; the eyes 
heavy and dull; itching of the nose ; short, dry cough ; grind¬ 
ing of the teeth; and starting during sleep, attended often with 
a slow fever. 

Stomach Worms. —Let the patient abstain from food for 
twenty-four hours, then j>repare as follows : 

1^. Santonine. 5 grains. 

Powdered Sugar. 1 teaspoonful. 

Mix thoroughly together and give at bed time after fasting, and take no 
food until the next morning. A full dose of Castor Oil should be given in 
the morning and before breakfast. If the worms are not expelled after the 
first treatment, it may be repeated for several days in succession. For a 
child under 6 years of age £ of the above dose will be sufficient. 

Thread or Pin Worms —That infest the anus and lower 
intestines can be effectually destroyed by the above treatment, and 
in addition throwing an injection into the rectum as follows: 
Take 20 drops Carbolic Acid and add to a common tumbler full of 
tepid water, and with a syringe inject the whole into the rectum 
in the morning after the Castor Oil has acted. The folds of the 
anus should be stretched apart and the surface well washed with 
the solution so as to insure the destruction of all the worms. 
After the carbolic injection has been used, the rectum should be 
washed out with tepid water. It may require two or three treat¬ 
ments to effectually destroy the worms and prevent their repro¬ 
duction. 

The following recipes may be found convenient and service¬ 
able : 

Remedy for Worms. —Take 6 grains santonine, 2 grains 
powdered gamboge, 1 grain podophyllin, and 12 grains pow¬ 
dered white sugar. Make into six powders. Give one powder 
three times a day for a child one year old. 

Oil of Worm-seed Mixture. —Take 1J fluid drachms 
Oil of Worm-seed, 3 ounces Castor Oil, and 10 drops Oil of 
Anise; mix them together, and add 1 fluid ounce aromatic 
syrup of Rhubarb. Shake well before using. Dose. —For a 
child of two years, one teaspoonful night and morning. 

Dr. Freeman’s Vermifuge Oil.— Oil of Worm-seed £ 
ounce, Oil of Turpentine 2 drachms, Castor Oil 1^ ounces, 
Pink Root £ ounce, Hydrastin 10 grains, Syrup of Peppermint 




WORMS. 


113 


-J ounce. Dose.— For a child ten years old, a teaspoonful three 
times a day, one hour before each meal; if it purges too freely, 
give it less often. This is an excellent vermifuge, and never 
fails to expel worms when administered for that purpose. Where 
no worms are present, it answers the purpose of a tonic, correct¬ 
ing the condition of the mucous membrane of the stomach and 
bowels, and operating as a mild cathartic. 

Tape-Worm. —The common Male-fern root is a certain rem¬ 
edy for Tape-worm. Two or three drachms of the powdered 
root to be taken in the morning, no supper having been taken 
the night before. It generally sickens a little. A brisk purga¬ 
tive is to be given a few hours after, which sometimes brings off 
the worm entire; if not, the same course must be followed at 
due intervals. For the success of this remedy, the root should 
be recently gathered; as, after being kept long in the stores, its 
activity is diminished or destroyed. 

Dowler’s Treatment of Tape-Worm. —Dr. Dowler 
expelled a tape-worm one hundred and thirty-five feet long by 
prescribing the continued use of elm bark. He ordered the bark 
to be chewed and swallowed in moderate quantities. 

Beach’s Treatment of Tape-Worm.— Dr. Beach effect¬ 
ually cured a patient who had been tormented with a tape-worm 
for twenty-five years. His treatment was as follows : Cowhage 
stripped from the pod, a small teaspoonful three times a day ; to 
be taken, fasting, in a little arrow-root jelly ; then occasionally 
a purgative of Fluid Extract of Podophyllum. In connection 
with this, eat freely of garlic and fine common salt. This treat¬ 
ment is to be continued until the tape-worm is killed or so sick¬ 
ened that it will lose its hold on the bowels, when it will be 
expelled entire. When once the tape-worm begins to pass 
the bowels, care must be taken not to break it off, for it will 
then grow again ; it has this peculiar property. 

Pumpkin Seeds for Tape-Worm. — Take 2 ounces 
Pumpkin Seeds, peel and pound to a paste with 1 ounce sugar ; 
then add by degrees 8 fluid ounces water. The whole to be 
taken in 2 or 3 draughts, at short intervals, fasting. Dr. 
Merwin has prescribed this repeatedly with success. 


114 


DISEASES OF THE BLOOD AND SKIN. 


DISEASES OF THE BLOOD AND SKIN. 

Although diseases of the blood and skin are considered under 
this head, there is no necessary connection between the two, 
although many blood diseases manifest themselves through the 
skin. Scorbutic or skin diseases, or those diseases that appear 
upon the skin, may be classified under the following divisions : 
First, those that arise in the blood, as scrofula, etc.; Second, 
those that are caused by some functional derangement, as of the 
stomach, liver, kidneys, etc., in which the blood is simply the 
agent for conveying the morbid secretions to the surface; Third,, 
those diseases that are communicated by contact, as the itch 
Fourth, such as come from a want of cleanliness of the person, or 
as are generated by the occupation in which one is engaged. A 
more minute classification might be made in a purely scientific 
treatise, but for popular purposes this will be sufficient. 

SCROFULA. 

The most marked and distinctive form in which Scrofula man¬ 
ifests itself is by an enlargement and subsequent ulceration of 
the glands of the neck. The scrofulous taint is however fre¬ 
quently the cause of consumption, hip disease, white swelling,, 
scald head, goitre, etc. Scrofula is in most cases hereditary, 
but like other affections that are transmissible, it may disappear 
for one or more generations and again reappear in one or more 
children of the same family. It is likely to be constitutional 
with the children of parents who have had syphillis. It may 
also follow abuse and excesses in the sexual functions, and may 
be developed by unwholesome food and filth and squalor in liv¬ 
ing. The causes are all such as tend to depress vital power, and 
impair vital resistance. It has been found that by confining 
animals in dark and ill-ventilated places and feeding innutritious 
food, scrofula may be produced. Plants grown in the shade 
without sunshine and pure air, show a spindling, sickly growth. 
As with animals and plants, the human species cannot be robust 
and stout without fresh air and sunshine, good food and regular 
meals. 


SCROFULA. 


115 


Treatment. —The medical treatment should be both con¬ 
stitutional and local—first to improve the quality of the blood 
and promote the absorption and removal of such material as may 
have been deposited. To accomplish this the following altera¬ 
tive blood purifier should be used for several months : 


1$. Compound Fluid Extract Stillingia. 8 ounces. 

Acetate Potassa. 1 ounce. 


Mix. The dose will be from £ teaspoonful for a child to 1 or 2 teaspoon¬ 
fuls for an adult, 3 times each day. 

The local treatment should be first, to scatter or prevent sup¬ 
puration of the gland before pus has formed. For this purpose 
pursue the following treatment, repeating it once a day until 
the swelling disappears: Prepare a pad of cotton lint of suffi¬ 
cient size and thickness for the purpose (or several folds of cot¬ 
ton cloth will do instead of the lint), and saturate it thoroughly 
with pure Glycerine; then take Tincture of Iodine and paint 
thoroughly over the part with a camel hair brush, and apply 
immediately the saturated pad; secure the pad by a proper 
bandage, and keep it moist with the Glycerine as it becomes dry. 
Repeat the same treatment, painting with the tincture of iodine 
and following with the glycerine pad every day. If the swelling 
has not advanced too far this treatment will cause it to be 
absorbed and entirely disappear. 

If the gland continues to enlarge, then poultices of Stramo¬ 
nium, Flaxseed, or some similar drawing application should be' 
made, until an opening appears. The discharge should be kept 
up by applying poultices of slippery elm, and renewing them 
three or four times each day. The ulcers should be washed with 
carbolic acid soap and water each time the elm poultice i& 
changed. 

When the ulcers cease discharging, they should be dressed two- 
or three times daily by first washing with carbolic acid soap and 
water, and applying the Healing Ointment described under head 
of “ Ointments and Salves,” and covering with a piece of cotton 
or linen cloth. 

The Diet should consist of rare beef, roasted or broiled, mut¬ 
ton, game, etc., but pork or bacon should not be eaten, or if at 
all, sparingly. The food should be the best that can be pro¬ 
cured. There is no blood maker equal to good beef cooked rare. 




116 


DISEASES OF THE BLOOD AND SKIN. 


and it is important in all scrofulous cases that it should be the 
principal meat used. 

CANCER. 

Cancers are liable to appear on any part of the body, but are 
found more frequently on the uncovered parts, or where there 
is greater liability to rubbing and bruising. They present 
every variety of form and consistence, some being exceedingly 
loathsome, while others appear for a long time only as ordinary 
tumors. 

They attack at any age, but most commonly after middle life. 
They invade every structure of the body; they bury into bone 
and soft tissue; they eat inward and outward ; they poison the 
blood, distract the mind, and call for every human sympathy. 
They stop not in the hovel to feed on the filth of poverty and 
want, but they go also into the palace and consume the body of 
king and queen. The old and decrepid do not alone have to 
shrink from the cancerous embrace, but the young, the beauti¬ 
ful and the gay often yield to its fatal grasp. In all ages the 
disease of Cancer has been justly held to be one of the most ter¬ 
rible—aye, the most terrible; for while the plague sweeps its 
victim into the grave without warning, Cancer comes by a slow 
and insidious march, a sore that gnaws away at the vitals day 
.after day, and week after week, until the body has been consumed. 

Cancer, in its first stage, is purely a local disease—a fungus 
growth, the same as a knot on a tree or fungus on an ear of corn 
or wheat. After a time the poison is passed through the lym¬ 
phatic glands into the blood, and the disease becomes constitu¬ 
tional, and death ensues. In its earlier stages it can be cured by 
proper treatment. 

Dr. Merwin’s Treatment of Cancer. —The writer (Dr. 

Merwin), passed a year as physician in the Cancer Hospital in 
New York, and during that time saw many cases treated by the 
old method of cutting with the knife. Not a single case of cure 
by this method is now recalled, while a great many cases are on 
record where, ten years after treatment by the new method, the 
patients were in the full enjoyment of health, without any 
symptoms of a return of the disease. 

There are many different forms of Cancer, which it is unne¬ 
cessary to describe, as the treatment is the same in most cases. 
There is now given to the public for the first time the treatment 


Treatment of Cancer—the two Methods 





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CANCER. 


117 


that has been followed in both hospital and private practice for 
many years with great success, and which is worth more to any 
one than the price of one hundred books. 

To extract the Cancer, first make a Cancer Paste as follows : 


1$. Chloride of Zinc. ounce. 

Pulv. Sanguinaria. 15 grains. 

Sulphate Morphia. 2 grains. 


Sufficient water to make a paste. 

Take a piece of adhesive plaster and cut out the size of the 
cancer, then attach the plaster to the surrounding healthy flesh, 
leaving the cancer so the paste can be applied. Spread a suffi¬ 
cient quantity of the paste on a piece of soft leather, and apply 
directly to the cancer, allowing it to remain on from four to eight 
hours. If the pain is too intense, a hyperdermic injection of 
morphia will mitigate it in a marked degree. Then follow with 
a slippery elm poultice until the cancer drops out, which will 
usually be within three or four days after the elm poultice has 
been applied. The elm poultice should be renewed every two- 
hours, and kept on continually. If any portion of the cancer 
should remain after the tumor has dropped out, the cancer paste 
should be applied again and followed with the elm poultice as 
before directed. The opening should not be allowed to heal too 
quickly, but should be kept open until the pus has been removed. 
For this purpose keep the elm poultice constantly on the sore, 
and frequently renew it until the opening is filled with healthy 
flesh, and completely healed. The pus should discharge freely, 
and the larger the quantity the better for the patient. 

In addition to the above, medicines should be taken to remove 
any constitutional taint that may remain in the system. For 
this purpose the following is the best blood purifier : 


Id Compound Fluid Extract Stillingia.16 ounces. 

Acetate Potassa. 2 ounces. 


Mix together. The dose will be 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls 3 times each day 
immediately after eating. This should be continued at least 3 months. 

It is important to keep the pores of the skin open so as to 
carry off any effete matter that might accumulate. The Alka¬ 
line Bath (page 18), will be the most appropriate, and should be 
used two or three times each week. 

The Cancer Plaster, as described above, is one of the best ever 
discovered, and while its action is thorough, it will not leave in 








118 DISEASES OF THE BLOOD AND SKIN. 

its train any poisonous effects, like the arsenical preparations so 
freely used by many. 

The foregoing treatment can be readily applied by any intelli¬ 
gent person, but there is occasionally a patient who cannot undergo 
the severe pain that it involves, and for these sensitive persons 
Dr. Merwin has a painless treatment which is as thorough as the 
foregoing, but on account of its nature can only be applied by a 
physician, and therefore it is not given here. 

Let us here impress upon the reader the necessity of having 
treatment immediately and without delay, upon the first appear¬ 
ance of any suspicious lump in the breast, or any other part of 
the body. Taken in its early stage, there is no danger; but 
when it becomes constitutional, there is little hope of a cure. 

INFLAMMATORY RHEUMATISM. 

Rheumatism is classified under the two heads of Acute or 
Inflammatory and Chronic. The profession are not wholly 
agreed as to the cause of Rheumatism, some holding it to be a 
disease of the blood, and others a disease of the nervous system. 
There is an agreement, however, upon this : That the symptoms 
are developed, and that the disease manifests itself by reason 
of exposures to cold and damp, insufficient clothing, etc. 

Acute or Inflammatory Rheumatism is attended by fever more 
or less marked. The local symptoms are stiffness and pains in 
the joints, especially the toes, ankles, knees, wrists, elbows and 
shoulders, or some one or more of them, so great many times 
that the patient can with difficulty be moved. These pains 
shift from part to part, and are liable to lead to fatal results if 
-attacking the heart, and they attack also the brain, lungs, 
diaphragm, liver, stomach, bowels, uterus, etc. When the heart 
is attacked, there is acute pain over the region, with palpitation, 
difficult breathing, partial fainting, great anxiety, pale, distressed 
countenance, and delirium. If the brain, acute pain in the 
head, intolerance of light, a wild and anxious expression of the 
face, heaviness, and sometimes delirium. When the stomach is 
affected there is pain, with nausea, vomiting, etc. Lumbago, 
affecting the muscles of the back, and sciatica, affecting the 
sciatic nerve, are well known rheumatic symptoms. 

Treatment. —On the commencement of the disease, the first 
thing to do is to give two or three Compound Podophyllin Pills, 


INFLAMMATORY AND CHRONIC RHEUMATISM. 119 

or sufficient to move the bowels freely, and thus prepare the 
stomach for other medicines and improve the digestion. A 
warm fomentation of hops and vinegar should be applied to the 
inflamed parts for an hour or two, then the following liniment 


should be used : 

I?. Oil of Mustard. 2 drachms. 

Alcohol.4 ounces. 

Tincture Opium.2 drachms. 


Mix, and apply by pouring a small quantity into the hand and thoroughly 
rubbing the inflamed parts; then cover with warm flannel cloths. The lin¬ 
iment should be applied 3 or 4 times each day. The spirit vapor bath used 
for 2 or 3 successive nights will also greatly assist in removing the disease 
by its action on the skin. 

Internal Treatment. —Salicin, in 15 grain doses, mixed 
with an equal quantity of pulverized sugar, should be adminis¬ 
tered every 3 or 4 hours, and continued for two or three days. 
Then discontinue and take the following : 


1$. Nitrate of Potash.4 drachms. 

Water. 6 ounces. 


Mix, and take 1 tablespoonful 3 times a day immediately after each meal. 
This should be continued until the above prescription is all taken. 

Lemon juice will prove of great benefit, and the juice of two 
or three lemons may be taken each day. The diet should be as 
light as possible until the inflammatory symptoms have sub¬ 
sided, using gruels, broths, and similar articles. To prevent a 
return of the disease, a current of electro-magnetism should be 
used. The best form is an electro-galvanic belt worn around 
the body. 

Remedy for Inflammatory Rheumatism.— Fluid 
Extract of Gelseminum, administered in doses of 5 to 10 
drops, in a teaspoonful of water, is a very serviceable remedy. 
The dose should be repeated three times a day until the pain 
and inflammation disappear. 

CHRONIC RHEUMATISM. 

Chronic Rheumatism may follow as a sequence of an attack 
of acute rheumatism, though quite as frequently it comes on 
without any appreciable connection with the acute form. Chronic 
Rheumatism affects more the larger joints, with less swelling or 
inflammation than the acute, but migrates (so to speak), from 







120 


DISEASES OF THE BLOOD AND SKIN. 


part to part, as does the other form. It is not usually accompa¬ 
nied with fever. The worst effects of the disease, when not 
arrested, are organic disease of the tendons, permanent stiffness 
of the joints, and a wasting and hardening of the muscular 
structure about the parts, with more or less deformity. 

Treatment. —Free perspiration should be produced by using 
the Spirit Vapor Bath once a week. The diseased parts should 
have the local treatment the same as for acute rheumatism, 
applying the Hop Fomentation, the liniment and the hot flannel 
cloths. The Compound Powder of Jalap should be administered 
from time to time in sufficient doses to produce one or two 
evacuations of the bowels daily. Among the various remedies 
prescribed by the profession, there is none that will equal the 
following in neutralizing and removing the rheumatic poison 
from the blood, especially if associated with scrofula or syphil- 


litic disease : 

1$. Compound Fluid Extract Stillingia. 3 ounces. 

Fluid Extract Macrotys. 1 ounce. 

Wine of Colchicum. 2 ounces. 

Fluid Extract Prickly Ash Berries. 1 ounce. 

Salicin. 5 drachms. 


Mix, and take 1 teaspoonful 3 times each day half an hour before meals. 

An electro-magnetic belt should be worn around the body by 
all rheumatic patients. The galvanic current will greatly assist 
the action of the medicine, and hasten the cure. 

The diet should be moderate but nutritious, avoiding acids 
and fats. 

The body should be protected by warm woolen clothing, and 
every care used to avoid cold and dampness. Exercise should 
be taken moderately every day in the open air if the weather is 
pleasant. 

FELON. 

Felon or Whitlow usually appears on the hand, but sometimes 
on the toes and feet. 

Treatment.—The treatment may be directed to three objects: 
First, to disperse the Felon before matter has formed; second, to 
draw it to a head ; third, where the Felon is deep seated, to lay 
it open with a lancet. 

1. To Dispense the Felon.— Take green Stramonium leaves. 







FELON-BOILS. 


121 


mash them into a paste, and bind them upon the part. Or if 
the leaves cannot be got, take the Stramonium Ointment, 1 ounce, 
and mix with it Sulphate of Morphia, 1 grain. This will relieve 
the pain, and if matter has not formed, it will destroy the Felon. 
Another remedy is to soak the part in strong lye water several 
times a day, and this may be done in case the Stramonium applica¬ 
tion cannot be had. Or the following may be used instead of 
the Starmonium : Take Sweet Oil \ pint, and stew 2 ounces 
plug Tobacco in it until the Tobacco is crisped; then squeeze it 
out, and when a little cool, add pulverized Camphor Gum 1 
ounce, Laudanum 1 teaspoonful. 

2. To Draw to a Head.— Take equal parts common bar Soap 
and brown Sugar, mix and make into a paste or salve, and apply. 
This should bring the Felon to a head in 12 to 20 hours, in the 
shape of a small white spot in the centre of the swelling, thougli 
it may take a longer time. It should be opened by some instru¬ 
ment, and treated with a Flaxseed, Slippery Elm, or some similar 
poultice, and afterwards with some bland salve or tallow dressing 
until it is healed. 

3. The Use of the Knife.— The safest treatment for Felon, 
if it has not been dispersed by the course first indicated, is to 
apply the lancet, and lay the flesh open so that the forming 
matter may escape to the surface. This will prevent it from 
affixing itself to the periosteum or shell coating of the bone, 
which it is liable to do, and by extending itself between the bone 
and flesh, occasion a suppurative destruction of the part, with 
permanent injury. 

BOILS. 

Boils are usually caused by a deranged condition of the stom¬ 
ach and liver. They frequently come along in a cluster or suc¬ 
cession, one following another. 

Treatment. —One or two Compound Podophyllin Pills should 
be taken each night, or sufficient to produce one or two move¬ 
ments of the bowels daily. 

If it is desired to prevent the Boil coming to a head, it may be 
touched freely with Nitrate of Silver, with a saturated solution 
of Oxalic Acid, or with Oil of Turpentine, on its first appear¬ 
ance. Usually, however, it is best to allow a boil to run its 
8 


122 


DISEASES OF THE BLOOD AND SKIN. 


course. As soon as its character is fairly developed it should be 
treated to a Flaxseed, Slippery Elm, or Bread and Milk poultice, 
which should be kept on until the boil has ceased discharging, 
after which the opening should be washed out daily with a solu¬ 
tion of Carbolic Acid, 30 drops to a tumbler of water, then 
covered with cloths moistened with the solution. This is usu¬ 
ally all that is required. 

It is a great relief, and is usually the preferable treatment, as 
soon as there is a softening of the cone, to apply the lancet, and 
especially should this be done where the boil is on the hand, 
wrist, foot, or elsewhere on the joints, as the suppurating matter, 
if not finding means of escape to the surface, may discharge 
itself inwardly, infecting the bones, cartilages and joints, and 
working permanent and serious harm. 

When there is a tendency in the system to the formation of 
boils the bowels should be kept regular by the Compound Podo 
phyllin Pill, and tonics should be taken, as quinine and iron, with 
frequent sea bathing if possible, and if not the use of the Salt 
and Alkaline Baths. 

The Small “ Cat Boil,” so called, usually matures in three 
or four days, and requires no treatment farther than to express 
the matter and apply afterward the Carbolic Acid solution, but 
if they occur frequently it is an indication that the system is out 
of order, and the Compound Podophyllin Pill should be taken 
in small doses, to act as an alterative and purify the blood. One 
pill each night or every other night, will have the desired effect. 

CARBUNCLE. 

A Carbuncle differs from a Boil in that it does not suppurate 
and come to a head, but has many heads or cells containing pus. 
A Carbuncle is a persistent tumor, and if not removed gangrene 
is likely to supervene. 

Treatment. —If there are no openings, cut through and 
inject saturated solution of Sulphate of Zinc. If there are open¬ 
ings, the solution should be injected into them. The object is 
to force a suppuration and sloughing of the diseased part. Then 
apply hot flaxseed poultices until the core is removed, after 
which use the carbolic acid solution as prescribed preceding for 
ordinary boils. 


CARBUNCLE—ULCERS. 


123 


<xive internally the following : 

3. Sulphate of Quinine. 15 gra ins. 

Phosphate of Iron. 8 grains. 

Thoroughly mix, and form into 8 powders, giving one 3 times a day. In 
severe cases the patient will he confined to the house, and should he kept 
warm in any case. If restless, give Fluid Extract of Aconite in 1 drop 
doses in a teaspoonful of water once an hour until free perspiration is 
induced. One Compound Podophyllin Pill should he taken each night to 
purify the blood and remove effete matter from the system. 


ULCERS. 

An Ulcer is a mattery secretion in any part of the system. It 
may result from some local injury, or it may be a “ gathering ” 
in some part from an impure state of the blood or some deranged 
secretion. A sliver driven into the flesh, if not removed, will 
occasion an ulcer. A bruise may occasion an ulcer. A boil is 
an ulcer. A pimple that secretes matter is an ulcer. A con¬ 
sumptive person may have ulceration of the lungs. Very many 
persons in comparative health have ulcers on the liver. 

Treatment. —Ulcers on the outer surface of the body should 
be protected from the air, and the treatment should be such as 
may be indicated by the nature of the difficulty in each particu¬ 
lar case. Attend to the general health by keeping the bowels 
open, and giving tonics and alteratives when the condition of 
the system demands' it. 

Ulcers—Beach’s Remedy.— Boil together a handful each 
of Sweet Clover, Burdock leaves, and Parsley, in a quart or more 
of water; when the strength is out, strain, and add a pound of 
Resin and a quarter pound of fresh (unsalted) Butter; simmer 
•down to the proper consistence. Apply two or three times a day. 

To Cleanse Foul Ulcers. —Twenty grains Carbolic Acid 
and 40 grains Permanganate of Potassa, with 8 ounces (£ pint) 
of water, makes an excellent cleansing lotion or injection. 
Apply externally by placing lint saturated with the liquid on the 
part, covering it with a layer of cotton batting as an absorbent. 
For cancer of the uterus, inject 3 or 4 times a day. May be 
used also for catarrh, pouring a small quantity in the hand, and 
snuffing it up the nose twice daily. Also as an injection for 
gonorrhea, gleet, luchorrhea, and similar difficulties. 




124 


DISEASE8 OF THE BLOOD AND SKIN. 


Ulcers of the Mouth. —For ordinary ulcers of the mouth, 
make a wash composed of 20 grains of Carbolic Acid and 8 
ounces water; use 2 or 3 times a day. If the ulcers are of a 
syphilitic origin, make a wash of 40 grains Carbolic Acid and 8- 
ounces of water. 

Running Sores on the Legs. —Wash the sores with 
brandy twice a day, and follow by green elder leaves rubbed 
slightly and bound on. Or, poultice with rotten apples. Fol¬ 
low with the Healing Ointment. 

Obdurate Ulcers. —Many ulcers become obdurate and 
chronic, and very troublesome. Steaming at night with hot 
infusions of bitter herbs, is standard treatment. Poulticing 
with flaxseed or slippery elm, mixed with a decoction of poplar 
bark, should be employed. If virulent and inflamed, wash with 
tincture of myrrh, and apply poultice composed of charcoal, 
yeast, slippery elm, ginger, and a trace of the tincture of capsi¬ 
cum. This is a strongly “ drawing ” application, and should be 
kept on as long as it can be borne ; then apply “ Healing Oint¬ 
ment,’’ which see. A good emollient treatment for ulcers is the 
application of simple cerate, and then keeping them covered 
with wet cloths wrung from cold water. 

As an alterative to act on the blood take one or two Compound 
Podophyllin Pills each night, or if this quantity produces a too- 
free movement of the bowels, reduce the dose. 

Bed Sores. —Take the yolk of an egg, place it in a mortar, 
and add a teaspoonfui of Glycerine and 10 drops Carbolic Acid ; 
rub to a consistence; apply the mixture by means of a camel 
hair brush. When dry it will form a coating that may be easily 
washed off. When the sore is well dried up, a covering of lint 
or cotton batting may be placed over it as a protection. 

PROUD FLESH. 

Watery granulations of a red, flabby character, that spring up* 
in wounds and ulcers, giving to the surface an uneven, weak and 
florid appearance. They appear in the centre of the wound or 
ulcer, around the edges, in patches, or in separate elevations. 

Treatment. —Powdered burnt alum scattered on the granu¬ 
lations may reduce them. Or a solution of 2 or 3 grains Sulphate 
of Zinc in an ounce of water, applied by moistening lint or cot- 


PROUD FLESH-ITCH. 


125 


ton batting and placing it over the part. When the granula¬ 
tions assume a fungoid character, stronger caustic applications 
will be necessary, for which use Carbolic Acid and Glycerine 
mixed in equal parts and applied with a camel hair brush. Alter¬ 
atives or blood purifiers should be given to purify and cleanse 
the system. 

ITCH. 

The common Itch, or Psora, was dignified by the first King 
James of the English line, who jocosely said that it ought to 
be reserved for kings, as the luxury of scratching was an imperial 
one that they could hardly afford to share with the masses. But 
if deprived of other luxuries, his poor Scottish subjects enjoyed 
this one in no small degree, for it is said that the Itch was so 
common on the possessions of the Duke of Argyle that that pop¬ 
ular nobleman caused posts to be erected at convenient distances 
along the highway for the people to scratch themselves against, 
whence arose the saying, when one scratches himself against a 
post: “ Lord bless the Duke of Argyle,” and the saying is com¬ 
mon to this day. 

The cause of Itch is a microscopic insect that burrows in the 
skin, the larger of which have been ascertained to be l-77th of 
an inch in length. It is an artistically and symmetrically formed 
little beast, with abundant outlaying feelers to tickle the cuticle 
and let his friend know that he is there. 

The Itch is communicable by contact with persons who are 
'effected with it, and is purely local and external. 

It first appears as a small elevated blister, usually on the hands 
and between the fingers, containing a clear fluid. The intense 
itching which accompanies the disease, causes the patient to 
scratch, and thus increase the local disturbance, until festering 
sores are developed, which are covered with thick scabs. The 
disease may be communicated to any part of the body from the 
fingers. 

Treatment. —The old treatment prescribed sulphur intern¬ 
ally, but there is no good reason for it. The only way is to 
destroy the animal, and the disease is cured. To accomplish 
this, take a small pointed pine stick, dip the end in Pure Car¬ 
bolic Acid, and apply to every vesicle or diseased place ; also the 
<crack leading from the vesicle should be touched with the Car- 


126 


DISEASES OF THE BLOOD AND SKIN. 


bolic Acid. This will kill the parasites, but may not reach all' 
at one application, and it may be necessary to repeat it several 
times. After applying the Carbolic Acid the following ointment 


should be used : 

Carbolic Acid. 10 grains. 

Sulphate Morphia. 1 grain. 

Vaseline. 2 ounces. 


Mix, and anoint all the diseased parts, once or twice each day. 

The above treatment will cure the disease in a few days. 

The bedding and clothing should be fumigated with sulphur,, 
and such articles as can be boiled should be washed and boiled 
in water, to which a teaspoonful of Carbolic Acid should be added 
to each gallon of water. 

Barbers’ Itch. —This disease is principally met with among 
male adults, and is conveyed, usually, from one to another, by 
means of the razor in shaving. It is usually found on the chin, 
although it may attack any portion of the face covered by the 
beard. It is, like all the “ itch family,” caused by a parasite 
which burrows around the roots of the hair or beard, producing 
hard, inflamed lumps, which suppurate and discharge pus, many 
times the whole surface presenting a solid scab. 

Treatment. —First cut the beard as short as possible with a 
pair of scissors. Where a hard crust or scab has formed, the whole 
surface should be covered with a flaxseed meal poultice, renew¬ 
ing every 3 or 4 hours, and continued for a day or two. On 
removing the poultice, the parts should be cleansed with warm 
water and Carbolic Acid Soap, applying immediately after, the 


following lotion : 

3 . Carbolic Acid. 30 grains. 

Glycerine. 2 ounces. 

Rose Water. 1 ounce. 


Mix, and apply with a camel hair brush 2 or 3 times each day. 

In the earlier stages, before a crust has formed, there will be 
no necessity of using the poultice, but simply wash the parts 
with Carbolic Acid Soap and warm water, and apply the Carbolic 
Acid lotion. In some cases the insect is burrowed so deeply 
around the roots of the beard that the Carbolic Acid fails to reach 
and kill the “ joker; ” in such cases the beard must be extracted 
with a pair of tweezers, and the lotion applied to the place where 
the beard came out. 








ACNE—FLESH WORMS. 


127 


Prairie Itch. —To cure Prairie or Seven Year Itch, the sur¬ 
face should be cleansed thoroughly with warm water and castile 
soap. Prepare an ointment by mixing an ounce of Sulphur with 
2 ounces of Vaseline. The sulphur smell may be neutralized if 
desired, by mixing a little Oil Burgamot, and the Subcarbonate of 
Iron may be used as a coloring. Apply freely at night after 
cleansing as above. Iodide of Potassium 4 drachms, in water 
8 ounces, mixed, should be taken in teaspoonful doses 3 times 
each day, as an internal remedy, and continued for several 
weeks. 

Bakers’ Itch. —Anointment made of Vaseline and Carbolic 
Acid, in the proportion of 10 drops of acid to 1 ounce of vaseline, 
is an excellent remedy for Bakers’ Itch. Keep the bowels open 
by the use of gentle cathartics, and avoid as far as practicable 
the use of salt food. Never allow flour or dough to remain on 
the hands longer than is necessary, but wash them in warm soft 
water and dry thoroughly while inside (if the work will admit of 
it), and always before going out. Also avoid the use of strong 
alkaline soaps. 

ACNE—-FLESH WORMS. 

Most frequently appears on the face, neck, breast and back, 
and is more common to youth and early adult life. The little 
black specks originate in a sluggish action of the sebaceous 
glanas, in which the matter fills up the pores of the skin. It is 
usually associated with disordered digestion. The black point 
or head is caused by fine particles of dust being imbedded in the 
oily sebaceous matter at the opening of the pores. Inflamma¬ 
tion often sets in around these points, and thus the condition of 
common Acne is produced. By many this condition is called 
“ Flesh Worms,” and ignorant charlatans often illustrate their 
advertisements with cuts representing “ worms” and “ grubs” 
in the skin. Such claims have no foundation in fact, and those 
making them are impostors. 

Treatment. —Wash the parts daily with soap and water, and 
rub briskly dry with a coarse towel, and bathe 3 or 4 times a day 
with a wash made by mixing 2 drachms Muriate of Ammonia in 
1 ounce each of Tincture of Conium and pure water ; or with a, 
lotion composed of equal parts of Saturated Solution of Oxalic 


128 


DISEASES OF THE BLOOD AND SKIN. 


Acid and Cologne. Before applying the lotion, express the 
specks by pressure with the fingers. Bathe the surface of the 
body daily with a weak alkaline solution ; keep the bowels open, 
and use nutritious, easily digested food, avoiding fats and stim¬ 
ulating liquors. 

SHINGEES. 

This disease usually appears as a red circular belt extending 
part way round the body, or it may appear in large, irregular, 
red-colored patches on one or both sides of the body. These 
patches are soon covered with small blisters, which usually dis¬ 
appear in five or six days, leaving a brown crust which drops off 
a day or two later. 

Treatment. —The Compound Powder of Jalap should be 
given in doses sufficient to produce a free movement of the bow¬ 
els once or twice each day. The following lotion should be 
applied to the inflamed surface : 


Rose Water...... 2 ounces. 

Glycerine. 2 ounces. 

Carbolic Acid. 20 drops. 


Mix, and apply with a camel hair brush 2 or 3 times daily. 

RINGWORM. 

This disease is a contagious affection of the skin caused by the 
presence of parasites. It usually appears on the face, forehead 
or scalp in form of small circular red eruptions. 

Treatment. —Take Carbolic Acid and Sweet Oil, equal parts; 
mix, and apply with a feather or camel hair brush, touching the 
affected part once a day, until the eruption disappears. 

SALT RHEUM. 

This disease usually attacks the hands, and depends very much 
upon the occupation and habits of the person. Washerwomen, 
and those -whose hands are exposed to the action of flour, soap, 
wax, resin, etc., are most subject to it. 

Treatment. —All soaps and alkalies, and lead preparations, 
should be avoided. Wash the hands only in warm water, to 
which may be added some oatmeal or cornmeal, or a little oxalic 





SALT RHEUM - SCALD HEAD. 129 

acid or vinegar. The following prescription is an excellent 
external application : 

3$. Stramonium Ointment. 1 ounce. 

Carbolic Acid. 10 grains. 


Mix thoroughly together. First wash the part affected with warm water 
and oatmeal or cornmeal, then dry thoroughly, and apply the ointment, 
bandage, and let remain all night. 

Another Remedy for Salt Rheum. —Make a wash of 
warm water and oatmeal, cleanse the part with it, and dry with 
a soft cloth; bathe with Tincture of Iodine, let it dry, and 
apply Carbolic Acid mixed with sweet cream—about 5 drops of 
the acid to a teaspoonful of cream. 

Another. —Take of beef’s marrow, Sulphur, Black Pepper, 
White Turpentine, equal parts; mix, make an ointment, and 
apply, cleansing as otherwise directed. 

SCALD HEAD. 

This is a disease of the scalp, and at first consists of minute 
pustules around the roots of the hair. These pustules increase 
in size and number until the entire scalp becomes covered by one 
dense and uniform crust. The disease is contagious, and caused 
by the presence of parasites. 

Treatment. —Cut the hair as closely as possible ; wash the 
head with castile soap and water, then apply at night on going 
to bed a large flaxseed meal poultice and let remain until morn¬ 
ing, when the poultice should be removed, and with it all loose 
incrustations. This poultice should be applied from time to 
time, if there should any new crusts form. On removing the 
poultice cleanse the scalp with Carbolic Acid Soap and warm 
water, then use the following ointment: 


3. Carbolic Acid.10 grains. 

Vaseline. . 2 ounces. 


Mix, and apply every morning sufficient to anoint slightly all the diseased 
parts. Wash the scalp each time with the Carbolic Acid Soap before apply¬ 
ing the ointment. 

To increase the general tone of the system, the Muriate Tinct¬ 
ure of Iron in 5 drop doses may be given in 1 tablespoonful of 
water, 3 times daily. 






130 


DISEASES OF THE BLOOD AND SKIN. 


HIVES. 

Give the Compound Powder of Jalap, to freely move the 
bowels. Then take equal parts of Spearmint and Saffron, add 
water and make a tea by steeping slowly ; drink hot. Its free 
use will drive the rash to the surface. Make a wash of Bicar¬ 
bonate of Soda (common Baking Soda), 1 ounce to 1 pint of 
water, and apply once or twice daily to the affected parts, rub¬ 
bing the skin briskly with a coarse towel. 

WARTS. 

Almost every person has a specific for Warts, and different 
persons are cured by a variety of remedies. The best treatment 
is to take equal parts of Chromic Acid and water, and apply to 
each Wart with a glass rod. The Wart will turn black, the whole 
or a part drops off. If a part remains make another application. 
Touching the Warts daily until they disappear with Carbolic 
Acid, is a good remedy. Nitro-Muriatic Acid, or Nitrate of Silver 
may be used in the same manner. 

Shaving the Wart down by cutting off thin flakes or shavings 
with a sharp knife until it bleeds, and then applying Acetic 
Acid by dipping a sharp pointed bit of wood in the acid and 
touching the Wart 2 or 3 times a day, is an excellent remedy. 

WENS. 

A Wen may be described in brief as a lump that appears 
usually on the head. It is harmless except for its inconvenience 
and the deformity that it occasions. 

Treatment. —The best way to remove a Wen is by a knife in 
the hands of a surgeon. It is done quicker and with less pain 
than by any other means. Wens are sometimes removed by the 
application of caustics. The following have been used with 
success: 

1. Caustic Potash applied to the tumor, being careful not to 
allow it to run upon the adjacent parts. The application is 
painful, and should be kept on until the skm over the tumor is 
deadened, to be followed by a Slippery Elm poultice, renewing 
it 2 or 3 times a day. After a time the skin will slough off, and 
the tumor may be removed. 

2. Take a needle or sharp-pointed knife and prick or cut the 


bright’s disease of the kidneys. 


131 


Wen in ten or a dozen places so that it will bleed; then wet it 
thoroughly once a day with a strong solution of Sulphate of Iron, 
prepared by dissolving the sulphate in water. 

3. Two drachms of Sal-Ammoniac dissolved in an ounce of 
water, adding an ounce of Tincture of Conium. The parts 
are to be bathed with it, and a compress kept over them, con¬ 
stantly moistened with it. 


DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 

Most intimately connected with the health of the animal econ¬ 
omy is the proper action of the Kidneys. These organs elimi¬ 
nate from the blood effete matter which, if not removed, would 
be fatal to life. Being separated from the blood by the action 
of the kidneys, this matter is carried out of the system by the 
urine. A diseased action of the kidneys may be by reason either 
of their failure to secrete matter that they are intended to secrete, 
by secreting in too great quantity, or by secreting matter not 
natural to them. Strong mental emotions, as fright, terror, 
some continued suspicion or apprehension, jealousy, and espe¬ 
cially the disappointment or interruption of a strong passional 
love, produce decided effects upon the kidneys, that may become 
destructive to their health. 

Some general remarks and treatment applicable to the kidneys 
will be found under the title “Diuretics," on page 45. 

BRIGHT’S DISEASE OF THE KIDNEYS. 

This is a disease very difficult of successful treatment. Its 
operation is by means of robbing the system of albumen, which 
is not secreted by the kidneys in their healthy action. When 
the disease is persistent it is due to some functional derange¬ 
ment of the kidneys, which may arise from external injuries, as 
a result of some preceding disease, from intemperance, sexual 
excesses, exposures to cold, etc. The disease is attended with 
derangement of the stomach and bowels (the latter either costive 
or diarrheic); occasionally sickness and vomiting; pains and 
uneasiness in the loins ; a sense of debility; the urine may be 



132 


DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 


red, brown, or dingy; dropsical swelling of the face or some 
other part of the system may take place; pressure over the 
region of the kidneys occasions more or less pain ; the skin is dry 
.and hard; drowsiness is common, especially toward the termina¬ 
tion of the disease. 

Treatment. —The first object to be attained, is to relieve 
the kidneys of a portion of their burden, hence the skin should 
be kept in an active condition; the Alkaline Bath (page 18) should 
be used daily, thoroughly rubbing the skin with a coarse towel 
until it is red. Fluid Extract of Aconite in two drop doses in a 
teaspoonful of water, should be taken every 2 or 3 hours; also, two 
or three doses of the Diaphoretic Powder (page 30) in the 
evening before going to bed. Placing the feet in hot mustard water 
on retiring will assist the action of the Aconite and Diaphoretic 
Powder, which are given to produce sweating, and thus relieve 
the kidneys. They may be still further relieved by mustard 
poultices applied over them. The Compound Powder of Jalap, 
in teaspoonful doses, should be taken to keep the bowels regular, 
and sufficient to produce watery stools. 

As a constitutional remedy, to remove the disease from the 
system and prevent its return, the following prescription should 


be used for several months : 

3$. Tincture Chloride of Iron. 1 ounce. 

Sulphate Quinine. 1 drachm. 

Distilled Water. 6 ounces. 


Mix. Dose.— One teaspoonful 3 times daily. 

Exercise in the open air should be taken daily; all indigesti¬ 
ble articles of food, as highly seasoned meats and puddings, rich 
pastries, fresh baked bread, strong coffee, spirituous and malt 
liquors, should be avoided, being careful to take only such food 
and drink as is easily digested, and does not aggravate the 
disease. 

As before stated, true Bright’s Disease is seldom cured, hence 
the patient should secure the advice of a physician to guide him 
in his general manner of living and such rules and treatment as 
the case may demand from day to day. 

DIABETES. 

The most prominent symptom of Diabetes is the amount of 
the urine voided, frequently amounting to four or five gallons 





DIABETES. 


133 


within a period of twenty-four hours. Its operation is by rap¬ 
idly depleting the system of saccharine matter, equal in some- 
cases to two ounces and a quarter to the pint of urine. The 
fluid passed has a sweet taste, and a good article of sugar may 
be made from it. Diabetic urine, with a little yeast added, will 
ferment at a moderate summer heat, like wine or cider. The 
disease is most common with men past middle age, but may 
exist with persons of all ages and sexes. A free use of acids 
may occasion a tendency to the disease, in addition to the causes 
mentioned as tending to produce Bright's Disease. 

Treatment. —The skin should have about the same treat¬ 
ment as recommended in Bright's Disease of the Kidneys. Also 
the same application of Mustard poultices over the kidneys. 
The bowels should be kept regular by some mild cathartic. The 
constitutional treatment consists of the following, continued 
several months: 

Citrate of Iron and Strychnia.. 1 drachm. 

Sulphate of Quinine...50 grains. 

Opium ... 1 drachm. 

Mix, and divide into one hundred pills, one of which should be taken 
three times a day. The next day take the following, omitting the above: 

t 

3$. Nitrate of Ammonia. 2 ounces. 

Distilled Water..6 ounces. 

Mix. Dose. —One teaspoonful in 2 tablespoonfuls of water B times 
one day, and thus alternate one with the other, the pills one day and the 
mixture the next. 

Alum, acting as an astringent, and lessening the quantity of 
urine, has in some cases been of much benefit, and it would be 
well for the patient to use it for a week or so at a time, then 
discontinue for a week or so, then take it again. The best form 
to take it for Diabetes is the following prescription: 


Powdered Alum. 1 ounce. 

Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia. 1 ounce. 

Water. 2 ounces. 


Mix. Dose. —One teaspoonful, to which add two tablespoonfuls of 
water, and take at a single draught 

As a rule no spirituous liquors should be used; all food and 
drinks containing sugar or starch must be abstained from. Po¬ 
tatoes and bread contain a large amount of starch; parsnips, 
beets, and many other vegetables and fruits contain sugar, and 










134 


DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 


should not be eaten. The patient should live as nearly as pos¬ 
sible wholly on tender fresh meats, and drink as small a quantity 
of fluid as possible. If the patient desires recovery or prolonga¬ 
tion of life, there must be no half-way measures. There must 
be an absolute control of the appetite and cravings. 

GRAVEL. 

This is a difficulty that effects equally the kidneys and blad¬ 
der. It consists in the presence in the urine of an undue quan¬ 
tity of the phosphates, of which lime is usually the principal 
ingredient. When the vessel used at night discloses in the 
morning a dirty-white, yellow, pink or red deposit at the bottom, 
resembling say a chalk sediment, the person has the symptoms 
-of Gravel. But a portion of the matter in a more solid form 
may remain in the bladder, and gradually increase in size until 
it becomes troublesome, thus constituting Stone in the Bladder, 
a common indication of which is a temporary difficulty in pass¬ 
ing the urine, caused by the stone settling down upon the pas¬ 
sage and choking it up. In some cases stones of small size form 
in the kidneys, and occasion difficulty and severe pain in their 
passage into the bladder. 

Treatment. —To relieve the pain caused by the gravel pass¬ 
ing through the ureters from the kidneys to the bladder, the 
patient should be placed in a bath as hot as it can be borne, and 
remain for ten or fifteen minutes, or until relieved. A poultice 
of onions, bruised and applied hot to the small of the back over 
the region of the kidneys, should be used as soon as the patient 
leaves the bath. The following is an excellent remedy: 


1$. Fluid Extract Buchu... 6 ounces. 

Carbonate of Potassa. 1 ounce. 


Mix. Dose.— One teaspoonful 3 times each day. Many cases are bene¬ 
fited by alternating the above fluid mixture with the following pill, 
using one one week and the other the next: 


B. Castile Soap. 4 drachms. 

Oil Sassafras. 1 drachm. 

Oil Spearmint. 2 drachms. 

Oil Pumpkin Seed.3 drachms. 

Carbonate of Potassa. 2 drachms. 


Mix thoroughly, and divide into five-grain pills. Three or four pills 
should be taken at a dose 3 times a day. 









SUPPRESSION AND RETENTION OF URINE. 135 

The daily use of grapes, oranges, lemons, and fruits containing 
•citric acid will be found beneficial. 

The above treatment will apply to a large number of cases of 
-Gravel; but these urinary deposits in different persons are quite 
unlike each other in kind, and in many cases the treatment must 
be varied to meet the different indications. 

Stone in the Bladder. —Where the gravelly deposit has 
accreted in the formation of Stone in the Bladder it can only 
be removed by a surgical operation; either by introducing an 
instrument and crushing the stone, or cutting through the 
perineum and removing it, and this of course calls for a good 
surgeon. 

SUPPRESSION OF URINE. 

An entire stoppage of the urine by reason of the kidneys ceas¬ 
ing to secrete it, would be followed by death in a very short 
time—say thirty to forty hours—by reason of the poisonous ex- 
•crementitious matter remaining in the system and producing 
blood-poisoning. Partial suppression of urine is not an uncom¬ 
mon difficulty, especially with corpulent persons of advanced age. 

Treatment. —A bath as hot as the patient can bear—say the 
hot Sitz Bath (see page 20)—should be at once applied. The 
bath should be continued fifteen or twenty minutes, and should 
be accompanied with, or immediately followed by a Hot Fomen¬ 
tation. The bath may be repeated two or three times during 
the day. After the bath and fomentation apply a mustard 
poultice; both this and the fomentation should be on the small 
of the back over the region of the kidneys. Give a cathartic, 
as the Compound Powder of Jalap, in thorongh doses. Warm 
infusions should be freely taken, as Queen of the Meadow root, 
Marshmallow, or Buchu leaves steeped and made into a tea. 
Cream of tartar, two teaspoonsful to half a teacup of water, 
drank entire so as to get all the cream of tartar, is excellent. 

An electro-galvanic belt worn around the body will be found 
a valuable auxiliary in the treatment of all diseases of the kidneys 
and bladder. 

RETENTION OF URINE. 

This is an entirely different affection from suppression of 
urine, treated of preceding. The kidneys may perform their 
office, and still the urine be retained in the bladder or passed 


136 


NERVOUS DISEASES. 


with difficulty, owing to some morbid condition of the organ 
or of the glands controlling the urethral canal. 

Treatment. —The use of the catheter is a mechanical means 
of relief. Other means should be similar to those prescribed for 
suppression of urine, including the Hip or Sitz Bath, Hot 
Fomentations, Warm Infusions, etc., except that instead of the 
application over the kidneys, the lower abdomen and pelvic reg¬ 
ion should be treated energetically with cloths wrung from hot 
water or hot vinegar and water. If the bowels are costive give 
1 or 2 Compound Podophyllin Pills. A tea made from water¬ 
melon or pumpkin seeds, parsley, etc., will be of service. (See 
Diuretics, page 45.) 

Incontinence of Urine in Old People. —One to 6 drops 
Tincture of Iodine taken in a little water daily and continuously, 
has proved a successful remedy. 

Remedy for Difficulty in Urinating.— Mix together 1 
scruple each Oil of Turpentine, Extract of Henbane, and Castile 
Soap. Make it into 12 pills, and administer 1 pill 3 times a 
day. 

To Relieve Spasm of the Bladder. —Place the patient in 
a hot bath immediately, and keep him there, supplying fresh 
hot water when required, until he is relieved, or becomes faint 
or fatigued. Then put him into a bed which has previously 
been well warmed, and keep hot cloths, hot bran, or [hot plates 
applied to prevent a return of the pain if possible. 


NERYOUS DISEASES. 

It is not the purpose in this connection to treat of diseases of 
the nervous system generally, but rather, under the head of 
“ Nervous Diseases,” to give brief formulas for a few maladies 
that depend remotely or immediately upon a deranged or dis¬ 
turbed nervous action. 

APOPLEXY. 

A sufficiently practical definition of Apoplexy is, a determina¬ 
tion of blood to the brain in such quantity that it cannot return 
from that organ. The more common causes are violent fits of 



APOPLEXY. 


137 


passion, excess of venery, stooping down for a length of time, 
wearing any thing too tight about the neck, gluttonous and bib¬ 
ulous habits, overloading the stomach in eating, excessive use of 
spirituous liquors, etc. Persons with short necks and large 
heads are the most predisposed to Apoplexy. In the severer 
forms the blood vessels are ruptured and the blood extravasated 
in the brain; in the milder forms the blood vessels are distended 
or swollen. The severer cases are hardly curable at all; milder 
ones may be cured. The chances of recovery are lessened where 
the attack has continued for 2 or 3 days, where breathing is 
laborious and loud, and especially if the patient is far advanced 
in life. 

Treatment. —The first thing to be done in an attack of 
Apoplexy is to relieve the pressure upon the brain, and for this, 
prompt and energetic measures are required. See that the*, 
patient is in a cool, airy place, keep the head and body erect as. 
far as possible, and remove all cravats or neck dressing, and 
unbutton the shirt collar so that there may be no obstruction to 
the circulation. Apoplectic patients are usually totally helpless, 
and unconscious, and require the attendance of at least three 
persons. The patient should be held in a sitting posture with 
the head thrown forward, and a stream of cold water poured 
upon the head and neck (gradually at first), an attendant at the 
same time rubbing the head and temples with common salt,, 
until the patient is able to swallow, when administer an active 
purgative composed of: 


Jalap. 2 drachms. 

Alexandrian Senna. 4 drachms. 

Ginger. 30 grains. 


Pulverize separately, then mix thoroughly all together, and put 2 tea¬ 
spoonfuls in about a gill of boiling water, and let stand until cool, then 
sweeten if desired, and drink the whole at a dose. This should move the 
bowels within 30 minutes. 

At the same time the limbs should be ligated by passing a silk 
handkerchief or strong bandage around the limb and twisting it 
tightly; allow the ligatures to remain a sufficient length of time, 
but not too long. The ligature is for the purpose of retaining 
the blood in the extremities and thus relieving the overloaded 
brain. 


9 





138 


NERVOUS DISEASES. 


If the patient does not rally under the cold water treatment 
and salt rubbing in a short time, so as to be able to swallow, 
administer strong purgative injections, and apply strong mustard 
plasters to the ankles and feet. Dry cupping along the spine 
and wet cupping on the neck and temples, have proved benefi¬ 
cial. Also, whipping the soles of the feet smartly with the 
hand. 

In no case, and under no circumstances, allow bleeding. 
Blood-letting at one time was a popular remedy, not only in Apo¬ 
plexy, but for nearly every other disease. It is not now used by 
;any intelligent physician. There is no evidence that it has the 
■smallest power to diminish the violence or duration of the par¬ 
oxysm. On the contrary, there is every reason to believe that it 
so far weakens the power of reaction as to prove fatal or greatly 
retard the cure. The whole secret of treatment in Apoplexy 
consists in equalizing the circulation by ligating the extremities 
and applying cold water to the head and heat to the feet, which 
will force back the blood from the upper extremities to the 
lower through the heart, and thus remove the cause. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 

This is a disease that usually results from some strongly excit¬ 
ing mental cause, acting either suddenly, or continuing for a 
length of time. It is nothing more nor less than an inflamma¬ 
tion of the brain occasioned by an intense activity of that organ. 

Symptoms. —Pain, heat, and fullness in the head; confu¬ 
sion of ideas ; redness of the face and eyes; ringing in the ears ; 
aversion to light and to sound; quick, full pulse; difficult 
breathing ; more or less delirium, constipation, vomiting, scanty 
and high-colored urine. 

Treatment. —Give an active cathartic—none better in this 
disease than Castor Oil. After its operation, bathe the body 
with weak lye-water, and sweat by hot fomentations, keeping 
the head and back of the neck cool by a cold compress fre¬ 
quently renewed. Repeat this treatment (cathartic and sweat¬ 
ing), daily for two or three days, unless the disease is sooner 
overcome. In connection with this, apply mustard poultices to 
the feet and ankles and along the spinal column, removing them 
before they cause blistering, and immediately supply their place 


NERVOUS HEADACHE. 


139 


with flannels or cloths wrung from hot vinegar, renewing the 
mustard again after a time. The system should be sustained by 
gruels, rice-water, toast-water, etc. Keep the room cool, dark 
^nd quiet, and have the patient's head well raised in bed. A 
tea of Skullcap may be given as a nervine to induce sleep. 
Exclude all visitors from the sick room. The patient will need 
watching, lest in delirium he may get out of bed. 

The more severe attacks will require other treatment such as 
a physician who should be called will prescribe. After apparent 
recovery care must be used as regards diet, mental excitement, 
over-exercise, etc., lest some possible imprudence occasion a 
relapse. 

NERVOUS HEADACHE. 

Although considered by many as a slight affection. Headache 
undoubtedly causes more suffering than any other disorder, asso¬ 
ciated as it is with a long catalogue of ailments. 

Headache may arise from a determination of blood to the 
brain caused by exercise in a stooping position, over-excitement, 
exposure to the sun, or any thing that will produce irritation of 
the brain. It may also arise from cold or heat, from a deficient 
.action of the kidneys, derangement of the stomach, constipation 
of the bowels, nervous disorders, and many other causes. 

Precaution and Treatment. —A cheerful disposition, 
moderate exercise, regular bathing, abstemious diet and atten¬ 
tion to the bowels, are good precautions against Headache. 
Relief may be had by snuffing Camphor, Hartshorn, and other 
aromatic odors. Electro-magnetism is beneficial, and the best 
form to apply it is to wear an electro-magnetic belt. The 
following prescription is excellent to relieve the Headache, and 
is also good to cure sleeplessness : 


3$. Hydrate Chloral. 2 scruples. 

Bromide of Potassium. 20 grains. 

Syrup Auranta. 3 ounces. 


Mix, and take a teaspoonful every hour until relieved. 

A good local application is compounded as follows : Put into 
1 quart of water a handful of common table Salt, 1 ounce Aro¬ 
matic Spirits of Ammonia, and 1 ounce Spirits of Camphor; 
mix altogether, pour quickly into a bottle, and cork tightly. 
Pour sufficient of the mixture on a cloth to thoroughly moisten, 





140 


NERVOUS DISEASES. 


and apply to the head, wetting the cloth as often as it becomes 
hot and dry. At the same time place the feet in hot mustard 
water. 

Headache is many times relieved by the application of the- 
hands of another person to the head, clasping the forehead and 
temples with the hands and fingers for a few minutes, and press¬ 
ing the fingers upon the scalp under the hair, with gentle- 
manipulation. 

Headache from intoxication may be removed by the follow¬ 
ing mixture: 

3$. Super Carbonate of Soda. 1 drachm. 

Essence of Peppermint. 1 drachm. 

Water. 1 gill. 

Mix, and take at a draught, to be repeated every 15 minutes if necessary. 

Or the following may be used in place of the above : 

3}. Spirits of Mindererus. 2 drachms. 

Essence of Peppermint. 1 drachm. 

W ater. 4 ounces. 

Mix, and 'take for a dose, repeating in half an hour if necessary. 

External Remedy for Headache. —Fill a small wide¬ 
mouthed glass-stoppered bottle about half full of cotton batting, 
and pour on it 2 drachms (2 teaspoonfuls) of the Bisulphide of 
Carbon. The cotton will absorb the fluid, and in using the rem¬ 
edy the mouth of the bottle is to be applied closely (so that none, 
of the volatile vapor may escape) to the temple, or behind the 
ear, or as near as possible to the seat of pain, and so held from 
3 to 5 minutes. After it has been applied for a minute or two, 
a sensation is felt as if several leeches were biting the part; and, 
after a lapse of a few minutes more, the smarting and pain 
become rather severe, but subside almost immediately after the 
removal of the bottle. The effect of this application is generally 
immediate. Used also in Neuralgia. 

SICK HEADACHE. 

The patient usually has nausea, and sometimes vomiting, from 
the commencement of the pain ; a dull, oppressed feeling in the 
head on awakening in the morning ; or it may come on a short 
time after arising. This soon becomes a heavy, severe pain in 
the temples, which is often worse on the left side. There is a 








SICK HEADACHE. 


141 


"bad taste in the month; the tongue coated with a yellowish 
white fur, feet cold and moist. Soon after vomiting sets in, the 
pain is relieved. These attacks occur regularly at stated periods. 

Treatment. —If there is indigestible food in the stomach, 
and the person is tolerably strong, an emetic should be taken, as 


follows: 

Powdered Ipecac.20 grains. 

Powdered Capsicum. 10 grains. 

Water. 2 ounces. 

Mix, and take at a dose. 


After free vomiting, place the feet in hot mustard water, and 
bathe the head in a mixture of alcohol, rain water and vinegar, 
in equal parts ; keep the patient quiet, and after sleep the pain 
will be greatly relieved. If the sickness continue give the 


following : 

1$. Bicarbonate of Soda.£ drachm. 

Prepared Charcoal. 1 drachm. 

Essence of Peppermint. 1 drachm. 

Water. 1 ounce. 


Mix well together and give for a dose, repeating every half hour, or until 
the headache disappears. 

Keep the room ventilated, and dark; the patient should lay 
quietly on the back, and be kept as free as possible from all 
noise and conversation. Three or 4 doses of the above mixture 
tisually checks the headache. A cathartic is required in some 
•cases, to relieve the bowels of any offending accumulations, and for 
this purpose the Compound Powder of Jalap (page 30) will be 
found the best, as it will act promptly and thoroughly. 

Prevention. —The diet should be carefully regulated, avoid¬ 
ing the use of all articles that may occasion a return, keeping as 
free as possible from all mental excitement or irritability. 

To restore the stomach and nervous system to their normal 
condition, and prevent return of the disease, the following tonic 
pill should be used for several months : 


Citrate of Iron and Strychnia. 1 drachm. 

Aletredin. 1 drachm. 


Powdered Columbo, a sufficient quantity to form a pill mass. Divide 
into 60 pills and take 1 immediately after each meaL 

Headache from Sour Stomach. —Two teaspoonfuls 
finely powdered Charcoal, mixed in ^ tumbler of water, will 











142 


NERVOUS DISEASES. 


usually relieve Headache when caused by an acid condition of 
the stomach, commonly known as “ sour stomach.” 

Periodical Sick Headache.— Those who are afflicted peri¬ 
odically with Sick Headache, accompanied with nausea and 
sometimes with vomiting, may obtain relief by soaking the feet 
in hot water, and using the Eclectic Emetic Powder (see page 44.) 
This treatment should be followed by taking the Compound Syrup 
of Khubarb and Potassa in teaspoonful doses, repeating every 3 
hours for a day or two. 

SEA-SICKNESS. 

In this, like many other affections, the subject feels a great 
deal better when he gets over it. Some persons who have never 
known what Sea-sickness is, are inclined to make light of it and 
to laugh at those who suffer from it; but their time will come, 
when they will know how it is themselves. Those who havo 
had Sea-sickness know how to sympathize with such as have it. 
It is for the time being one of the most distressing of afflictions,, 
and with those unaccustomed to the water there is no certain 
way to avoid it during rough weather on ship board. And with 
those who have the physical strength to endure the strain, it is 
an excellent cleansing process. The tendency to Sea-sickness may 
be greatly lessened by keeping the middle of the vessel as nearly 
as may be, and lying quietly on one’s back, occupying a berth or 
the deck according as the weather may be. Light draughts of' 
spirits, wine or champagne, or of cider, with a few drops of 
laudanum added, will be of service. When the paroxysms occur,, 
they will run their course in due time, and the appetite and 
strength will return with new force and zest. 

Preventive and Remedial. —Persons before going to sea. 
would do well to take an emetic, so as to thoroughly remove the 
bile from the stomach, and they will be less likely to be affected.. 
It would be well also before embarking to provide one’s self with 
some Oil of Capsicum and some capsules, and if suffering an 
attack of Sea-sickness, take one drop of the -oil in a capsule, 
repeating in an hour if necessary. It will check the vomiting. 
Half a teaspoonful of dry Salt may also prove effective. Or, a 
few drops of Camphor, Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia and Hoff¬ 
man’s Anodyne, a few drops of each, in a little water or on a- 


NEURALGIA. 


143 


lump of sugar, often relieves when other remedies fail. Five to 
ten drops of Chloroform on a lump of sugar has also been used 
successfully. 


NEURALGIA. 

Neuralgic affections depend upon a great variety of causes, 
and where Neuralgia is manifested in any form, it can only be 
cured by removing the cause. There are many preparations 
however for relieving neuralgic pains and affections, from which 
the following have been carefully collected. 

Neuralgia Drops. —The following prescription has been 
used in the writer’s practice in a great number of cases, and it 
has so far never failed to relieve the pain : 


Muriate Ammonia.2 scruples. 

Sulphate Morphia. 2 grains. 

Fluid Extract Gelseminum.2 drachms. 

Aqua Camphor. 2 ounces. 


Mix. Dose. —One teaspoonful, repeated in 20 minutes; after this take 1 
teaspoonful every 3 hours, if necessary, until the pain disappears. Tw® 
doses will usually relieve all pain. 

Neuralgia Ointment. —An excellent external remedy to 
relieve the pain is the following : 


1$. Atropine. 1 grain. 

Fluid Extract Aconite. 20 drops. 

Vaseline. 1 drachm. 


Mix, and apply by rubbing a part of the Ointment on the affected parts, 
and repeating 3 or 4 times each day if the pain should return or continue. 
This usually gives relief with one or two applications. 

Another Application. —Mix Chloral Hydrate and Gum 
Camphor in a mortar, until it becomes of the consistence of 
syrup. Rub the part with this once an hour until the surface 
shows redness. 

Neuralgia Liniment. —A remedy, which is sometimes 
instantaneously successful, is mixing equal parts of Sweet Oil, 
Spirits of Hartshorn, Fluid Extract of Aconite, and Chloroform ; 
shake it well, and before time is allowed for its particles to sepa¬ 
rate, wet a bit of lint, place it on the painful spot for about 
a minute, or less if relieved sooner, but hold a handkerchief on 
the lint, so as to confine the volatile ingredients ; if kept on 
too long, it will burn the skin. 









144 


NERVOUS DISEASES. 


LOCKED JAW. 

This is a disease that is the result either of exposure to cold or 
of some bodily injury, as punctures, wounds, lacerations, scratches, 
splinters, by pieces of glass, or nails, etc. It may also be occa¬ 
sioned by dislocations or fractures, or by irritating substances in 
the stomach and bowels. It is more prevalent in warm and 
marshy than in temperate and dry climates, and robust persons 
are more subject to it than weaker ones. The first symptoms 
are difficulty and uneasiness in turning the head, the mouth 
does not open easily, and gradually closes entirely; severe pains 
and cramps, extending to the muscles of the body, the limbs, 
face, tongue, etc. Sometimes the sufferer is bent backward like 
a hoop, and at other times doubled forward or to one side ; the 
whole body is in a state of spasm or cramp, with frightful con¬ 
tortions. 

Treatment. —First let the patient inhale Chloroform or 
Ether, sufficient to relax the muscles; then give a tablespoonful 
of Compound Tincture of Lobelia and Capsicum (page 29), 
repeating the dose every 5 minutes until it produces nausea and 
vomiting. The first or second dose usually produces a sufficient 
degree of relaxation to enable the patient to readily swallow, 
when a large dose of the Compound Powder of Jalap (page 30), 
should be at once administered, so as to produce a free movement 
of the bowels. 

If the Locked Jaw has been caused by a wound that has healed, 
it should be immediately opened by the application of Caustic 
Potassa, and any foreign substance remaining should be removed, 
and a discharge kept up by poultices of powdered Slippery Elm 
Bark and Lobelia Seed. The patient should be kept free from 
noise and excitement, in a dark room, and not disturbed by con¬ 
versation. The strength must be sustained by beef tea and food 
if the patient can swallow. Also give internally the following: 


1$. Sulphate Quinine. 1 drachm. 

Fluid Extract Gelseminum.2 drachms. 

Water. 4 ounces. 


Mix, and take 1 teaspoonful 3 times daily. The Gelseminum has a pecu¬ 
liar relaxing effect that prevents a return of the disease, and the Quinine 
acts as a tonic. 

There should be no time lost in sending immediately for the 





SLEEPLESSNESS—INSOMNIA—HICCOUGH. 145 

best physician to be had, as the disease requires prompt treat¬ 
ment, which must be varied to meet the various complications that 
may arise. 

To Relieve Locked Jaw. —The following, from the London 
Lancet , is said to relieve Locked Jaw : Take a small quantity of 
Spirits of Turpentine, warm it, and pour it on the wound, no 
matter where the wound is, or what its nature; relief will follow 
in less than one minute. Nothing better can be applied to a 
.severe cut or bruise than cold Turpentine; it will give certain 
relief almost instantly. 

SLEEPLESSNESS—INSOMNIA. 

Sleep is a natural condition, and where sleep does not come 
naturally, the system is suffering some derangement. In ordinary 
cases Sleeplessness will be relieved by restoring or equalizing the 
circulation of the blood. Soaking the feet in hot mustard water, 
.and bathing the surface of the body with a salt or alkaline solu¬ 
tion (see “ Baths and Bathing"), drying and rubbing the sur¬ 
face with a coarse towel before going to bed, until a warm glow 
is felt over the surface, will in very many cases bring the desired 
relief. Exercise, cheerful associations, buoyancy of spirits, and 
good digestion, if they can be enjoyed, will be an effectual anti¬ 
dote to Sleeplessness. The recipe first given under the head of 
Nervous Headache (page 139), may be taken with benefit. 

HICCOUGH. 

This simple affection is most common with children and 
youths. Gently startling the subject by awakening the fears or 
arousing anger, will usually be effective to dispel the paroxysm. 
Drinking in quick succession a few small draughts of water, or 
taking small swallows and counting them; holding the breath 
and counting mentally; or anything that will change the cur¬ 
rent of the thoughts, will have a like effect. A pressure made 
upon the collar bones is said to be effective. If the Hiccough 
arise from acidity of the stomach, some alkaline preparation, as 
Soda or Magnesia, will be good. In other cases acids, as a little 
Vinegar or Lemon Juice; or a few drops Essence of Peppermint 
on a lump of sugar. If the trouble come from drinking liquor, 
eat sour pickles. Where other means fail, inhaling Chloroform 
so as to produce partial insensibility, will most likely bring relief. 


146 


NERVOUS DISEASES. 


Hiccough, when occurring in the later and weakened stages of 
some acute disease, is unfavorable, usually indicating the approach, 
of death. 


“THE BLUES,” OR HYPOCHONDRIASIS. 

Hypochondriasis, Low Spirits, or “ Blues,” is a peculiar state 
of the mind, accompanied with indigestion. The principal 
objects of treatment are, to remove the indigestion, to strengthen 
the body, and to enliven the spirits; and one of the best plans 
for this is constant exercise and change of place, with a warm 
bath two or three times a week; early hours, regular meals, and 
pleasant conversation ; the bowels being at the same time care¬ 
fully regulated by the occasional use of a Compound Podophyl- 
lin Pill, and the stomach strengthened by some appropriate tonia 
medicine, such as Quinine and Iron. 

STIFF NECK. 

Occasionally an attack is severe, and confinement to the house' 
or bed, with wrapping up of the neck with cotton wadding or 
flannel, together with attention to the state of the digestive 
organs, is necessary. The diet in these cases must be regulated,, 
and an aperient, such as Cream of Tartar or Castor Oil, taken if 
required by the state of the bowels. If the stiffness be obstinate 
in its duration, it had better be rubbed with some appropriate 
liniment. (See “ Liniments.”) 

NERVOUSNESS GENERALLY. 

The cure of Nervousness is best effected by restoring the 1 
healthy action of the stomach and bowels, and by proper exer¬ 
cise, especially in the open air. The stomach should not be over¬ 
loaded with indigestible food, and the bowels should be occasion¬ 
ally relieved by the use of some mild aperient. Abernethy’s 
injunction to a nervous and dyspeptic lady, 4l ‘Dismiss your 
servants, madam, and make your own beds,” should be recol¬ 
lected by all as a proof of the importance that eminent surgeon 
attached to exercise. 

Nerve Tea. —Take 1 ounce each of Scullcap, Valerian and 
Catnip ; Cayenne Pepper, 1 drachm ; Coriander Seeds, i ounce. 
Pulverize, and mix. Take 1 teaspoonful in a cupful of boiling 


NERVOUSNESS GENERALLY. 


14T 


water, adding milk and sugar. Repeat according to the symp¬ 
toms. This tea tranquilizes the most irritable nerves without 
debilitating and deadening their sensibility. 

Nervous Pill. —Assafoetida, Extract of Hops, Carbonate of 
Ammonia, of each 1 ounce; Extract of Valerian, 20 grains. 
Dissolve the first two ingredients over the fire, then take off, and 
add the others; mix well, and with a few drops of the Oil of 
Lavender, and a little Powdered Liquorice, form into 3 grain pills. 
Dose.— One or 2 once or twice a day. Valuable in all nervous 
and hysterical disorders. 

Valerian for Nervousness. —Valerian is a medicine of 
great value in nervous disorders, hysteria, lowness of spirits, rest- 
lessnessj diseases of the bladder, etc. The common dose is from 
a scruple to a drachm, in powder ; and in infusion from 1 to 2 
drachms. Its unpleasant flavor may be neutralized by the addition 
of nutmeg. Assafoetida is also recommended. One or 2 of the 
5-grain Assafoetida Pills, sold by druggists, may be taken at 
night. But there is no remedy for nervous disorders of every 
kind, comparable to the proper and constant use of the electro¬ 
magnetic belt which is manufactured by the author of this 
work. 

Valerian and Ammonia. —An excellent remedy for nerv¬ 
ous headache and depression of spirits. Mix 3 drops Oil of 
Valerian and 10 grains Carbonate of Ammonia with 1^ fluid 
ounces Cinnamon Water and ounce Simple Syrup. Take 1 
teaspoonful every hour. 


FEMALE COMPLAINTS. 

In the preparation of this work, the references to the sexual 
functions have been almost wholly incidental, for several reasons. 
In the first place, in treating of so many subjects, it would be 
impossible to do full justice to a topic so intricate in itself, and 
so wide and varied in its relations. And besides, a treatise on a 
subject which, with most people, is regarded as one of delicacy,, 
seems unadapted to a popular work. Opinion is not, however, 
all one way, many persons holding that a fuller and more open 
knowledge on topics that affect every person, would be beneficial. 



148 


FEMALE COMPLAINTS. 


Without discussing this question from its abstract bearings, it is 
.sufficient to say that with the popular tendency to vulgar and 
prurient interpretation, the choice of the author and publisher 
has been to keep the work as free as possible from whatever 
might minister to this tendency. 

In some closing remarks under the head, “ Care of Children,” 
reference is made to the change occurring at the age of puberty, 
more especially as it affects boys. Not less critical is the same 
period as affecting girls. This change takes place earlier in 
warm climates than in colder ones, and is earlier developed under 
the stimulating influences of city life than in the country. In 
temperate climates it is occasionally observed as early as the ninth 
or tenth year, and has been known to be deferred as late in life 
as the twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth year. The most common 
time, however, is from the twelfth to the fourteenth year. It is 
a period which, with girls, affects as well their moral as their 
physical health. It is literally the budding time of life, and as 
the impressions made upon their minds may be pure or impure, so 
will largely be the character of their lives. But it is more espe¬ 
cially the physical feature of the case that affects the present 
purpose. 

The first care of the mother, upon observing the symptoms of 
menstruation, should be to aid their development and their recur¬ 
rence at the proper intervals. If this is done, it will go very far 
toward establishing regularity and a natural order during after 
life, and to avoid the intense suffering that arises from irregu¬ 
larity and a deranged order. 

The first symptoms are pain in the back and limbs, and a 
. sense of weight in the pelvis. These may occur at regular inter¬ 
vals for several months, unaccompanied with any menstrual dis¬ 
charge. Any over-exertion and all excitements at such times 
should be avoided. As an aid to the effort of nature, let the 
feet be bathed in warm mustard water at bed time, and a cup of 
’ warm pennyroyal tea taken. The warm Hip Bath, and hot 
applications over the pelvis will also be serviceable. Pur¬ 
sue these means systematically until the regular periods are 
established and the system disciplined to them, and the future 
woman will be saved an immense amount of pain and suffering. 
The subjoined prescriptions will be found applicable to many 
. cases of female troubles. 


DIFFICULT MENSTRUATION. 


149 


DIFFICULT MENSTRUATION. 

Where the flow is absent, irregular, or interrupted, the treat¬ 
ment should embrace every possible means of improving the gen¬ 
eral health, particularly the enjoyment of pure air, and the use 
of the Shower or Hip Bath; moderate exercise, especially on 
horseback ; with a wholesome, nutritious diet. The. medical 
treatment must not be trifled with, as it requires considerable 
watching; it should therefore be carried out under the eye of a 
skillful physician. When the slightest appearance of menstrua¬ 
tion takes place, the patient should be kept as quiet as possible; 
and, in order to encourage the flow, the use of the warm Hip 
Bath every night for a week preceding the regular time, adding 
a handful of ground mustard, and followed by a good rubbing 
with a rough towel of the hips and lower part of the front of the 
body, will greatly assist in bringing on the discharge. 

When interruption has taken place suddenly, recourse should 
be had to the warm Hip Bath, and some warm drink, such 
as hot ginger tea or hot pennyroyal tea. When cessation for one 
or more periods has occurred, then it is specially important to 
favor, as much as possible, its restoration by the general treat¬ 
ment above suggested. 

Obstructed Menstruation. —This is one of the best prep¬ 
arations to bring on the flow when obstructed. No matter what 
the cause, it seldom fails if used in time : 


Compound Tincture Aloes. 2 ounces. 

Oil Savin.20 drops. 

Oil Pennyroyal. 30 drops. 

Oil Tansy. 30 drops. 

Oil Ergot.40 drops. 


Mix. Dose. —One teaspoonful 3 times each day, commencing 1 week 
before the expected time. Use the warm Mustard Foot Bath and Ginger 
or Pennyroyal tea, as above prescribed, immediately upon going to bed, 
covering warm so as to induce and keep up perspiration. 

Suppressed Menstruation.— Digest for a few days 4 

ounces powdered Gum-guaiac, 1^ drachms Carbonate of Soda 
(or of Potassa), and 1 ounce powdered Allspice, in 1 pint dilute 
Alcohol. Add 1 or 2 drachms Volatile Spirit of Ammonia to 
every 4 ounces of the tincture. To be administered in doses of 
1 teaspoonful in a little sweetened milk, or in sherry wine,. 







150 


FEMALE COMPLAINTS. 


morning, noon and night. This is an excellent and well-tried 
remedy. 

Excessive Menstruation. —Those who are liable to this 
form of irregular Menstruation should be careful in their diet, 
choosing a plain and nutritious one. They should attend to the 
function of the bowels, and maintain a horizontal posture from 
the time when the discharge commences till its cessation. In 
.addition, if the discharge, besides being copious, is continuous, 
recurring over and over again, it is necessary to have recourse to 
powerful remedies. When the discharge is so profuse as rapidly 
to reduce the patient’s strength, still more, if by it, as has hap¬ 
pened sometimes, life be brought into peril, local means of 
arresting bleeding must also be adopted; foremost among these 
is the application of cold cloths placed over the lower part of the 
bowels, and to the groins. Injections of cold water may also be 
.employed. 

The following prescription is one of the best to check the 


hemorrhage: 

1$. Oil Cinnamon. 2 drachms. 

Oil Erigeron. 2 drachms. 

Brandy.. -. 4 ounces. 


Mix. Dose.— From £ to 1 teaspoonful, repeated every 10, 15, or 20 min¬ 
utes, according to the nature of the case. 

Pills for Painful Menstruation. —Pain accompanying 
menstruation is usually relieved by the following pills and treat¬ 


ment : 

3$. Extract Stramonium. 16 grains. 

Sulphate Quinine. 15 grains. 

Macrotin. 8 grains. 

Sulphate Morphia. 1 grain. 


Mix, and make 10 pills. Dose. —One pill, repeating if the pain does 
not subside, once or twice only, 1 hour apart. In addition place the feet in 
hot water, and drink hot Pennyroyal tea. 

LEUCORRHEA, OR WHITES. 

The following preparations should be used as injections : 


1. Chloride of Zinc. 30 grains. 

Laudanum. 4 drachms. 

Tinct. Catechu. 5 drachms. 

Glycerine. 2 ounces. 

Water. 8 ounces. 


Mix, and use as an injection twice daily, first injecting a pint or so of 














DIFFICULTIES OF CHILD NURSING. 151 

lukewarm water and castile soap to thoroughly cleanse the parts; then 
throw into the passage with a syringe 1 tablespoonful of the above injection 
mixture. 

2. The following preparation has proved very successful in 
many cases where other remedies have failed. It strengthens 
the weak and debilitated parts, and cannot be too highly recom¬ 


mended : 

3$. White Pond Lily (Root).2 ounces. 

Peruvian Bark. 1 ounce. 

Golden Seal . 1 ounce. 


Grind or bruise the above, and place in 1 quart of soft boiling water. 
Let stand until cool, then strain and use 2 or B tablespoonfuls at night on 
retiring, as an injection. 

3. Compound Solution of Alum 6 drachms, water 1 quart. 
Mix, and use it lukewarm. 

4. Sulphate of Zinc 40 grains, water 1 quart. Mix. 

WASH FOR PRURITIS. 


Rose Water.4 ounces. 

Pulverized Borax.i ounce. 

Sulphate Morphia. 6 grains. 


Mix, and apply to the burning and itching parts. Especially valuable for 
females. 

DIFFICULTIES OF CHILD NURSING. 

Sore Nipples. —Take 8 grains of powdered Borax and dis¬ 
solve in 1 ounce of Rose Water; then take 1 ounce of powdered 
Gum Arabic and thoroughly mix in 1 ounce of Rose Water, then 
mix the two together. Shake well, and add to the combined 
mixture 2 drachms Tincture of Myrrh. Apply with a camel hair 
brush. The lotion forms a coating over the abraided surface, is 
.soothing, healing, and perfectly harmless. By using a rubber 
nipple the coating may remain on until the part is healed. 

Or another good artificial coating may be made with the white of 
an egg, a tablespoonful of Glycerine, and 10 drops Carbolic Acid; 
rub to a consistence in a mortar and apply with a brush. This 
last should only be applied where the rubber nipple is to be used. 

To Relieve Sore Nipples. —The following is an excellent 


prescription: 

Lime water. 3 drachms. 

Essential Oil Sweet Almonds.3 drachms. 

Laudanum. 5 drops. 


Mix. Moisten a piece of lint with the mixture, sufficient to cover the 











152 


FEMALE COMPLAINTS. 


nipple, then place over the whole an artificial rubber nipple. Change the 
moistened lint 8 or 4 times each day. | 

Ague in the Breast.—Melt slowly together Camphor Gum 
1 part, Yellow Beeswax 2 parts, and clean Lard 3 parts; spread 
thinly on cotton or linen cloth, and lay upon the breast, cloth 
down, and cover with flannel; may be warmed or applied cold. 
The milk should be first drawn from the breast. Vaseline is 
preferable to Lard for its cleanliness; if used, it should be in¬ 
corporated with the Camphor Gum and Beeswax (warm) in a 
mortar. 

Caked Breasts. —A handful of Chamomile flowers and 
Marshmallow root, boiled in milk and water and applied be¬ 
tween flannel cloths as a fomentation, has proved efficacious for 
caked breasts. Renew every 12 hours, applying as hot as can 
be borne. 


MILK LEG. 

A swelling of the lower limbs that sometimes attacks women 
after confinement. It was first so called from the erroneous sup¬ 
position that it was caused by the milk from the breasts finding 
its way into the legs. The real cause of the difficulty is not 
known with certainty, though it is supposed to arise from cold 
or over-exertion. The left leg is the one most frequently affected ; 
seldom both limbs at the same time, though the disease some¬ 
times, as it subsides in one limb, affects the other. It is usually 
a tedious affection, and the swelling may continue for a month 
or two, or even longer, but the fever usually subsides by the 
ninth or tenth day. In some cases the inflammation is very high, 
and terminates in suppuration, extensive abscesses being formed, 
giving rise to a great amount of suffering and prostration. The 
disease may appear between the fourth day and third week after 
confinement. Usually the milk secretion disappears from the 
breasts. 

Treatment. —First give a thorough cathartic. Citrate of 
Magnesia, or the Compound Powder of Jalap should be taken, 
and keep the bowels moderately open with the same during the 
entire course of the disease. 

Cream of Tartar, 1 tablespoonful to a tumbler of water, should 


MILK LEG. 


153 


be used daily as a drink. The following should be prepared to 


allay the fever and inflammation : 

Fluid Extract of Aconite. 30 drops. 

Fluid Extract of Yeratrum Yiride. 20 drops. 

Water. 4 ounces. 


Mix, and take 1 teaspoonful every hour when the patient has fever; and 
every 2 or 3 hours when fever has subsided. 

The local treatment consists in having the patient lie flat 
upon her back, with the inflamed limb raised a little higher 
than the hip, by placing it on a bolster or pillow, and then 
charged to not put her foot down upon the floor until very nearly 
cured . The best application for the limb is Stramonium (Jim- 
son-weed) leaves bruised and moistened with hot vinegar and 
water ; cover the whole limb with the bruised leaves, and over 
these wrap a flannel blanket which has been wrung out of hot 
vinegar and water. Keep this on for 4 or 5 hours, when it may 
be removed and the limb bathed with 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls of 
a mixture composed of warm Sweet Oil 3 ounces, Laudanum 2 
ounces, and Fluid Extract Yeratrum Yiride 1 drachm, all mixed 
together, covering the limb immediately with a hot flannel 
blanket. 

In case the Stramonium leaves cannot be had, a Hot Fomen¬ 
tation of Hops, Yinegar and Cornmeal, (see “Hop Fomen¬ 
tation, page 24), with a teaspoonful of the Fluid Extract of 
Yeratrum Yiride sprinkled upon it, may be used with nearly as 
good an effect as the Stramonium. This treatment, first the Hot 
Fomentation, then the warm Sweet Oil Compound, should be 
continued, first one, then the other, until the inflammation is 
subdued. After the inflammation has been reduced the limb 
should be loosely bandaged with flannel, moistening it with 
Fluid Extract Yeratrum Yiride, 30 drops to an ordinary tumbler¬ 
ful of water. 

The patient should remain in a recumbent position until all 
symptoms of the disease have disappeared, and be allowed a light, 
cooling diet. 

If the disease has been allowed to become chronic, and sup¬ 
puration has taken place, the ulcers should be healed by using 
the Healing Ointment, described under the head of “Ointments,” 
and treated as ordinary ulcers. 

10 





154 


FEMALE COMPLAINTS. 


VOMITING DURING PREGNANCY. 

The following remedies may be used : 

1. Mix 2 ounces Sweet Tincture of Rhubarb, and 1 ounce each 
Compound Tincture of Gentian and Oil Capsicum, 10 drops. 
Dose. —A teaspoonful 3 times a day. 

2. Mix 1 drachm Carbonate of Magnesia, ounce Tincture of 
Colombo, 5^ ounces Peppermint water. Take a tablespoonful 
3 times a day. 

Vomiting, in nearly all cases, can be relieved by applying a 
strong mustard poultice over the pit of the stomach and letting 
it remain until the skin is quite red. 















Physician, Nurse and Patient, 













































































































































































































































PAET I—DIVISION III. 



CARE OF THE SICK, 

In the larger cities the hospitals furnish the best means for 
caring for a large class of patients. They embody the principle 
•of a collective employment of agencies, as differing from indi¬ 
vidual and isolated effort. They possess the advantage of econ¬ 
omy, and of training and skill in the treatment of disease and 
the care of the sick, and for many classes they are a very great 
convenience and blessing. In many cases of epidemic disease 
also, they become a necessary agency in the care and treatment 
of greater numbers. But people in the larger cities who are so 
situated that they can care for their sick at home, generally pre¬ 
fer to do so, and in the smaller communities, and in the rural 
districts where there are no hospitals, all classes do so of necessity. 
It is to the great mass of the people of the country, therefore, 
that a brief treatise on the method of caring for the sick, will be 
of value in a work of this kind. 

THE SICK ROOM. 

A plain room is best for sick people. It should be as large, 
within reasonable limits, as the means of the family will allow. 
Upholstered furniture is useless to a sick person, and besides, it 
is liable to become charged with the diseased elements that are 
thrown off. For let it be borne in mind that there is no organic 
body, whether in health or disease, but gives off emanations into 
the atmosphere around it. Ordinary diseases are not noxious to 
persons attending, yet there is no need to bottle up any exhala- 

155 



156 


CARE OF THE SICK. 


tions that flow from the mildest types of disease. There is & 
feeling of avoidance that is not altogether squeamishness, of 
things that have been in contact with sick people. And the best 
medical authorities hold that hospitals used for the treatment of 
certain diseases should be so used only for a limited time, and 
should be then torn down and removed, because the seeds of 
disease, especially gangrene, affix themselves in the walls, and 
attack subsequent patients who are susceptible to their influence. 
And in speaking of the “seeds” of disease, let it be borne in 
mind that modern scientific investigation discloses that the germs 
of many diseases exist in the form of minute organic animal life,, 
and are thus introduced into the system, and 'that the rapid 
progress of disease is due to the extraordinary power of propaga¬ 
tion and reproduction on the part of these disease-germ animals. 

For similar reasons above, articles of food should not be kept in 
sick rooms, or in near contact with them. Cooking or warming 
food in the sick room, either for the patient or nurse, should 
always be avoided if possible. Of course these suggestions apply 
only in case of people so circumstanced as to observe them. 
Those who are not so circumstanced will of necessity do the best 
they can. 

An east room is best for the sick. No person, whether sick 
or well, should inhabit a room into which the sun does not shine 
some portion of the day. The morning sun has in it more of 
cheer, of hope, and of life, than a declining sun, and besides, in 
warm weather, a south or west room would be found distressingly 
hot, although a southern exposure is usually found more agree¬ 
able during the night. Light should be admitted freely, unless- 
the condition of the patient forbids it. Ventilation should be 
perfect, without subjecting the patient to draughts of air. 
Booms with open grates and fire places, especially when fires are 
kept up, usually need no other ventilation, but in the absence of 
this, an opening should be made in every chimney near the ceil¬ 
ing. This is the better point for the escape of foul air, which 
has a tendency to rise by reason of the warmth of the room,, 
while the cooler fresh air finds its way into the room through 
the small apertures around the windows and doors. There are 
many cases, especially where patients are convalescing, in which 
outside windows and doors may be opened, though the caution- 


THE SICK ROOM. 


15? 


ary rule should be against it; that is to say, the rule should be 
against it, and it should only be done when the judgment of the 
physician or nurse approves it for the purpose of ventilation, or 
for other good reason. A necessary caution should not in any 
case deprive the patient of a full supply of fresh air, always, 
however, avoiding a draught of air through the sick room. 

The modern reclining chair is an excellent thing for patients 
who are in a condition to use it, and an ample cottage rocking 
chair with arms, is vastly better as an “easy chair” than any 
cushioned and upholstered affair, because the patient can be so 
“fixed up” in it with pillows and wraps as to be grandly com¬ 
fortable. 

The sick room should be kept cleanly, without annoying the 
patient by needless sweeping and changing. Vials, bottles, 
tumblers, spoons, etc., should not be allowed to accumulate on 
the stand or dresser, and as far as practicable should be kept 
•out of sight of the patient, because, if in addition to having to 
take nauseous medicines, the vessels containing them are kept 
•continually in view, it will breed a feeling of disgust and repul¬ 
sion. Dishes in which food has been served to the patient should 
not be allowed to stand in the room, because by being constantly 
in view, they may destroy the relish that food freshly brought 
would otherwise have. 

Everything requiring attention in the sick room should be 
attended to as it transpires, so as to guard against any accumu¬ 
lation or complication of duties on the part of attendants, and 
the excretions should be removed as soon as passed by the 
patient. If the patient is able to sit up a portion of the time 
the occasion should be embraced to air the bed and bedding, and 
if a spread or blanket be used for the patient to lie upon, it 
would be well to change it every two or three days, taking care 
that the substitution be not cool so as to cause a chill. Feather 
beds should not be used for sick people if it can be avoided. 
Hair, cotton, moss, shucks or straw, are all to be preferred, for 
cither sick or well. Hop pillows, and even hop mattresses, are 
excellent for the sick, especially for those who are nervous or of 
weak nervous action. 

To Cool the Air of Sick Rooms. —In the summer time, 
have the windows open as much as is prudent, but cover the open- 


158 


CARE OF THE SICK. 


ings with muslin cloth wrung from cold water. By fixing some 
small hooks or fastenings on the window casings, the cloths can 
be readily removed and replaced as they become dry. The tem¬ 
perature can be quickly lowered from five to six degrees by this, 
means. 

THE NURSE. 

The term “nurse” means literally, one who gives suck to a 
child. In its general application however, it means one who 
attends upon and cares for the sick. And it would seem that 
every person ought to know how to care for another person in 
sickness. It would seem that the art of nursing ought to be a 
part of the discipline and instruction in every family, for, as 
sympathy is an indispensable quality in attending the sick, the 
immediate friends and relatives of the sick person would natu¬ 
rally be supposed to possess it in a greater degree than a stranger. 
But, while it is true that parents, and especially mothers, are the- 
best nurses for their children, and husbands and wives of pacli 
other (with exceptional cases), outside of these relationships it 
will generally be found that the same law governs in relation to- 
the art or profession of nursing as in all others, namely, adapta¬ 
tion. Good nurses are born, not made. There are those who 
like it, though much the larger proportion of people (especially 
of men), while they would attend a sick friend from a sense of 
love or obligation, would rather do almost anything else. Women 
are better nurses than men, anyway, and except in cases which 
from some peculiarity require a male attendant, they should be 
preferred. Instruction and practice are equally necessary with 
natural adaptation to make a good nurse, but no one should 
undertake that responsible work as a profession except from 
choice and preference. 

Training schools for nurses are established in some of our 
cities, and there ought to be one or more in every town of con¬ 
siderable size. It is as important that people should be trained 
to take care of the sick, as that they should be taught how to- 
make coats and dresses, how to dispense drugs, how to shoe a 
horse, raise cabbages, or carry a musket. It is a training which 
the average schools cannot give, and yet it may be said as against 
the work of these schools, that their instruction has a tendency 
to raise the aims and anticipations of their pupils above tho 


THE NURSE. 


159 


practical affairs of life, so that a legitimate school for nurses 
would find a paucity of attendance, as most of the industrial 
pursuits find it difficult to fill their ranks from the classes in 
society who represent the best average moral and intellectual 
development of the day. There are thousands of young women 
who, as they enter upon adult life, find themselves without any 
definite aims, hopes or expectations for the future. They are 
without means or social connections that will secure them good 
settlements, and their whole future is vague and apprehensive. 
Many females under such circumstances accept offers which 
neither their judgment nor affection approves, and which end in 
disaster. If the profession of nurse could be dignified in the 
public estimation as it deserves to be, and institutes were estab¬ 
lished in which the elementary principles of medicine and a 
knowledge of physiology and hygiene could be taught in connec¬ 
tion with practical instruction in the art of caring for the sick, 
it would open the way for many reputable young women to 
acquire what would be essentially useful knowledge. There are 
many well-to-do families who could well afford to keep a person 
thus instructed under annual salary. Many of them would in 
time contract marriages without being forced to do so by want, 
and the influence of such an element in society would be marked 
by many good results in the wider diffusion of knowledge on 
vital topics on which a great majority of the people are pro¬ 
foundly ignorant. A portion of the money expended for the 
education of health teachers that is now annually used to edu¬ 
cate and maintain religious teachers, would yield much better 
returns. 

A nurse should be healthy, intelligent, sympathetic and self- 
poised. The latter quality she will very soon acquire—those who 
have not observed, will note with no little surprise how potent 
the sense of a responsible position is in calling into action the 
resources that are essential to properly fill it; but if the person 
does not possess the requisite qualities, or becomes puffed up 
with an undue sense of her importance, she has mistaken her 
occupation. A feeling of mutual confidence will very soon 
spring up between a good nurse and the good physician; she 
will observe his directions, and will feel free to offer any sugges¬ 
tions as to treatment that her closer observation of a case may 
indicate. Fortunately, in the case of most sick people, their 


160 


CARE OF THE SICK. 


will power subsides with the loss of physical strength, so that 
the task of controlling and governing them is comparatively easy. 
A firmness blended with kindness will very quickly establish the 
nurse in such a psychological mastery over the patient that he 
will never stop to question but what her way is the right way in 
all things. Any fretfulness, petulance, or complaining on the 
part of the patient should be met with sympathy rather than 
with retort. 

A nurse should be tidy. In her person she should be neat, 
and should take some pains in dressing her hair, and her patient 
will think none the less of her for tying a ribbon or a rose in it. 
While the nurse cannot be expected to dress in silks, her calico 
gown should not be so badly faded as to be suggestive only of 
decay. 

A nurse should talk to her patients pleasantly, but never 
obtrusively. She should consult what may seem to be the best 
good of the patient in encouraging or discouraging conversation 
at any time. Conversation should be such as will induce a pas¬ 
sive condition of mind in the patient, free from gossip, and from 
any subject calculated to arouse combativeness. To attempt to 
rally the patient on the subject of religion would be a very 
serious impropriety. It might arouse his animosity, and thus 
aggravate his disease. It might lead him to suppose that in 
the opinion of the nurse he was going to die, and that she 
wished to prepare him for his end. A train of morbid reflections 
would very likely result from it. Even where the nurse and 
patient were known to be in accord in matters of religion, she 
should not encourage his reflections in that direction, because 
the emotional agitation would be greatly weakening and enfee¬ 
bling. 

At the beginning of her task, the nurse should so order the 
room and her own attitude and deportment as to avoid the 
necessity for changing them with the changing conditions of the 
patient. If, with any declining symptom of the patient, the 
nurse darkens the room, or surrounds her own movements with 
an air of greater stillness and mystery, the patient at once senses 
the change, and will very likely magnify any slight change of 
symptom into an alarming one. 

Nurses are very apt to have their favorites among physicians. 
Preferences are unavoidable, but a nurse should understand that 


COOKERY FOR THE SICK. 


161 


professionally she should have no favorites. She should avoid 
all remarks disparaging to the attending physician in presence 
of members of the family or others, and should equally avoid 
remarks complimenting any other physician, nor should she in 
any way seek to occasion dissatisfaction with, or distrust of, the 
regular attendant. But yet if a nurse should come to believe, as 
a matter of sincere conviction, that a wrong course of treatment 
was being pursued, it would be equally her right and her duty to 
frankly inform the members of the family of it, though not 
with the knowledge of the patient. 

COOKERY FOR THE SICK. 

Nothing in the economy of the sick room is more important 
than the proper preparation of food for the invalid. While most 
sick people require but little food, and while patients with fevers 
and inflammatory diseases may pass several days without taking 
any appreciable quantity, all require more or less food at some 
stage of their illness. First the adaptation of the food to the 
patient’s condition and to the disease, must be considered. Next 
the preferences of the patient must be consulted, because he 
would reject what he did not like, and if eaten without relish 
the stomach would not receive and dispose of it readily. As 
bearing upon both these requisites therefore, is the question of 
preparing and cooking the food for invalids; and here rests one 
of the most necessary qualifications of the nurse. The nurse, 
above all others, should not only know what to choose, but how 
to prepare, food for the sick under her charge. It does not fol¬ 
low that she should do the manual labor of preparation in all 
cases, but she should be competent to instruct others how to do 
it, and she should personally ‘superintend the preparation, and 
apply her own hands to it when necessary. 

In cooking, or preparing gruels or drinks for the sick, the 
porcelain-lined ware is best, and next in order bright tin or a 
clean iron dish or saucepan. In no case should brass or copper 
be used, as the articles in cooking will act upon the metal, form¬ 
ing verdigris, which is poisonous. Nor should old tin dishes be 
used if it can be avoided. Medicines and food for the sick 
should never be kept in anything but a glass or earthen vessel. 


162 


CARE OF THE SICK. 


DRINKS AND GRUELS. 

Sick people do not usually care for tea, coffee, or other table 1 
drinks, and some herb or farinaceous tea is preferable. 

Herb Teas.— Catnip, Sage, Spearmint, Pennyroyal, Cham¬ 
omile, Scullcap, Fever-bush, Saffron, Balm, etc., may be made 
into a tea by steeping, using so much of each herb, and steeping 
for as long a time (usually 15 or 20 minutes), as required;, 
sweeten to the taste. The Balm tea, if drank warm, will induce 
perspiration; if cold, it acts as a diuretic, increasing the flow 
of urine; and a few drops Sweet Spirits of Nitre may be added 
to increase its action in either direction. The Scullcap acts as a 
sedative in case of nervous agitation and restlessness. 

Fever Drinks. —The following will be found pleasant and 
beneficial in fevers: 

1. Put half an ounce each of dried Plums or Prunes, fresh 
Cranberries, and stoned Raisins, into a quart of water, and boil 
down to a pint. 

2. Or an ounce each of Currants, Raisins and Tamarinds, sim¬ 
ilarly prepared. 

3. Take of dried Sage leaves, Balm leaves, and Sorrel, as. 
much of each as will be equal to about half of a tablespoonful,, 
pour on a pint and a half of boiling water, and steep in a cov¬ 
ered dish 20 to 25 minutes. 

Either of the above may be sweetened and flavored with 
lemon if desired; should be kept covered. 

4. Fill a teacup a third full of good vinegar and fill the cup 
with strained honey (or if honey is not agreeable, with syrup 
or molasses), and add to a pint of water, mixing thoroughly. 

5. Take a bowl or pitcher holding about a quart; put in 2 or 
3 teaspoonfuls of Arrowroot and a little water, rubbing them up 
so as to prevent lumps; squeeze in the juice of half a fresh 
lemon, add 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of white sugar, and pour in boil¬ 
ing water to nearly fill the dish, stirring the while. Cover the 
dish; drink cold. 

6. Take 3 quarts of water and put in it a half ounce of Cream 
of Tartar, boiling until the Cream of Tartar is dissolved; re¬ 
move from the fire and add a sliced orange and 2 or 3 ounces of 
white sugar; drink cool. Should be kept in an earthen or glass 
vessel. 


DRINKS AND GRUELS. 


163 


7. Cut in quarters and bake until thoroughly done, 3 or 4 
large juicy apples; put the pieces in a pitcher and pour on a 
quart of boiling water, and let stand half an hour where it will 
keep hot, but not to boil. Use when cold. May be sweetened 
and flavored. 

8. Or: Slice two large tart apples, and pour on them a quart 
of boiling water. Treat and use same as above. 

Lemon water, and any decoction of non-astringent acid fruits 
or jellies, sweetened or not as the patient prefers, and ice-cold, 
if desired, may be freely partaken of in cases of fever of any kind. 

Flaxseed Tea. —Take 2 ounces of Flaxseed (bruised), 
and a small quantity of pounded Liquorice root; place them in 
a tin basin or other cooking vessel and pour on a pint of boiling 
water (soft or rain water is best); add 2 tablespoonfuls of 
lemon juice, and let the whole steep near the fire for 3 or 
4 hours, but not to boil; strain through a linen cloth. An 
excellent drink in cases of fever accompanied with cough; should 
be made fresh each day. A little good cider vinegar may be 
used instead of lemon juice if that cannot be had. 

Egg Wine. —Break a fresh egg into a dish and beat it thor¬ 
oughly; add a teaspoonful of sugar, two-thirds of a wineglass of 
catawba wine, and half a gill of boiling water, stirring briskly as 
the water is added. A tablespoonful of brandy or an equivalent 
quantity of good whisky may be used instead of the wine. It 
is both nourishing and stimulating, and is excellent in a low state 
of the vital forces. 

Rice and Barley Water. —Put an ounce either of rice or 
pearl barley in a quart of water and boil for an hour or more 
until the liquid is reduced to about a pint; strain and sweeten. 

Corn Coffee. —Parch some corn till brown and brittle, bruise 
it to the condition of coarse corn meal, put a tablespoonful in a 
pint of water and boil 8 to 10 minutes. Strain. 

Barley Coffee. —Prepared same as corn coffee. 

Oatmeal Coffee. —Mix and bake into a cake, some oatmeal; 
toast the cake to a brittle without scorching it, and prepare same 
as foregoing. 

Remarks. —The barley coffee is good in the later stages of 
fever, and when patients are convalescing. The corn and oat- 


164 


CARE OF THE SICK. 


meal coffee, when not sweetened, check vomiting; in other cases 
sweeten to the taste. 

Toast Water. —Toast a slice of bread slowly till it is quite 
brown, and if slightly scorched it will suit some tastes better. 
Put in a covered earthen dish and pour on a half pint or more 
of boiling water, and let stand 20 to 30 minutes. 

Bran Tea. —Put half a pint of new wheat bran into a quart 
of boiling water, boil down to a pint, and strain. 

Malt Gruel. —Take a pint of ground barley malt, and pour 
on 3 pints of boiling water. Keep it at a heat barely below 
the simmering point for a couple of hours. Strain and sweeten. 

Bice Gruel. —Boil a half teacupful of rice flour or bruised 
rice in a quart of water for an hour; strain. 

Farina Gruel. —Stir into a pint of boiling water. enough 
farina to give it the proper consistence. 

Tapioca. —Take three heaping tablespoonfuls of tapioca, 
wash in cold water, drain off the water, place the tapioca in a 
dish and pour on water enough to cover it; let stand 3 or 4 
hours, then add as much more water, and boil it until it looks 
clean. 

Panada. —Toast 2 or 3 thin slices of stale wheat bread, 
crumb it into a bowl and pour on a pint of boiling water. Good 
for convalescents and women in lying-in. 

Bemarks. —The foregoing preparations from grain and their 
products, may be termed farinaceous drinks and gruels. They 
are generally demulcent and nutritious, useful in low states of 
patients in acute diseases, fevers and inflammations, and for 
ladies in lying-in. The weaker and least nutritious of them will 
of course be chosen by the nurse, according to the condition of 
the patient. They may be rendered palatable by sweetening in 
all cases, and in fevers and inflammations a bit of lemon juice, 
Cream of Tartar, tamarind, or other unobjectionable acid, may be 
added. In cases unattended with fever, add a little wine or 
spirits, with nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon, or other agreeable spic¬ 
ing, as the state of the patient may indicate. 

Gum Arabic. —Dissolve 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of Gum Arabic 
in a teacupful of hot water. 


DRINKS AND GRUELS. 


165 


Slippery Elm. —Take of prepared Slippery Elm Bark about 
an ounce, or of the green bark a small handful, and place in a 
pint of cold water; let stand an hour or two, when the water may 
be drank freely. 

Marshmallow. —A decoction may be made of bruised 
Marshmallow and used in the same way as the slippery elm. 

Remarks. —The foregoing may be sweetened, flavored and 
used the same as the farinaceous drinks and gruels. They are 
adapted to Coughs, Inflammations of the Stomach, Bowels, Kid¬ 
neys, Bladder, etc. 

Plain Gruel. —Put a dish with a pint of water on the fire, 
and when the water boils briskly, throw in a little salt, and stir 
in slowly 2 tablespoonfuls of corn meal; let cook about 5 min¬ 
utes, stirring gently. It is best warm, and should be made 
fresh at intervals of not more than an hour or two. This is good 
for Small-Pox patients and those suffering from eruptive fevers 
and other acute diseases in which a stronger diet would be 
hurtful. 

Arrowroot Pap. —Put a pint of water into a dish, and 
put to boil; take a tablespoonful of Arrowroot and mix it into 
a thin paste with a little cold water; when the water boils, stir 
in the paste, letting it boil a few minutes, stirring to prevent 
scorching. Sweeten with loaf sugar. 

Arrowroot Pap, with Milk. —For those requiring a 
stronger food, milk may be used instead of water, preparing as 
above. 

Wine Jelly. —Toast to a light brown 2 or 3 slices of light 
bakers’ bread (or some plain crackers, if this cannot be had), and 
boil gently in a quart of water until it forms a jelly; strain upon 
some lemon peel; sweeten, and add a little wine, and spice with 
nutmeg. May be made without the wine and nutmeg, to suit 
the condition of the patient. 

Rice Jelly, —Put into a pint of water 2 ounces of rice and 
4 ounces white sugar; soak slowly, stirring the while, until the 
whole forms a jelly; strain into a dish, and use when cool. 
May flavor with lemon juice or other flavoring. 

Wine Whey. —Add to a quart of boiling milk a wineglass or 
two of any tart wine, or pure cider a little worked; let the whole 


166 


CAKE OF THE SICK. 


boil, and set aside until the curd settles; pour off the whey, 
sweeten, and flavor to the taste, or as the state of the patient 
may indicate. 

MEAT TEAS AND BROTHS. 

Beef Tea. —Take tender, juicy beefsteak, cut from a full- 
grown, well-fed animal, but free from fat or gristle; cut it in 
small bits, say half an inch square, put the meat into a glass 
quart jar, cover tightly, place in a kettle of cold water, and boil 
till the meat is tender; then take out the beef and express the 
juice through a linen cloth, and season with pepper and salt. 
A cracker may be eaten with it if desired. 

Remarks. —In this and any similar preparation the bottle 
should be secured by having the cork tied down, so as to prevent 
the water from getting into it, and it would be well to wrap the 
bottle also in a cloth to prevent breaking. It may then be placed 
in a kettle and boiled like a pudding. The water must be cold 
when the bottle is placed in it, or it will break. 

Quick Beef Tea. —Take about half a pound of best beef 
steak, cut thin, put it on a broiler and subject each side to a 
bright heat of coals for half a minute, but not so as to scorch it; 
place it in a sauce pan, pour on a half pint of boiling water, 
cover the sauce pan, and let steep under a moderate heat for half 
an hour. Season according to the taste and condition of the 
patient. 

Extract of Beef. —Take a pound of lean beef (the round 
preferred), chop and put it in a large mouthed bottle or glass 
jar, without water; place the bottle in a vessel of cold water, 
place over the fire, and let come to a boil, boiling slowly for two 
hours; skim all particles of grease from the top when done. 
There will be three or four tablespoonfuls of the extract, which 
may be taken either cold or warm. Add a little pepper and salt 
if desired. 

Mutton Tea. —Take about half a pound of the lean part of 
good young mutton, cut it in thin slices, place in a covered dish 
with a pint of boiling water—soft water is best. Let it steep for 
an hour at a gentle heat, and then boil for half an hour. If it 
is desired to add a fairnaceous component, take an ounce of 
pearl barley, let it soak in moderately warm water in a separate 
dish while the mutton is steeping, then drain off the water from 


107 


MEAT TEAS AND BROTHS. 

the barley and add the barley to the mutton when it is put to 
boil. The fibre of the mutton should be separated from the 
broth by ^straining through a fine sieve or napkin, but so much of 
the barley may be retained in the broth as the condition of the 
patient seems to demand. 

Mutton Broth. —Cut in pieces two pounds of neck of 
young mutton or lamb, boil in three pints of water until the 
meat is in shreds, strain off the broth and season. 

Veal Tea. —Veal tea or veal broth may be made in the same 
manner as the like preparations of beef and mutton, but these 
meats should be preferred where they can be had without too 
much trouble. 

Chicken Broth. —Cut in parts the wings, legs and neck of 
a fowl, and simmer in a quart of water for three hours; then 
strain the broth and add to it a dessert spoonful of farina, 
blended with a cup of cold cream. Season with celery salt, but 
no pepper. The above for convalescents. Where there is a tend¬ 
ency to fever or inflammation, and in all very delicate condi¬ 
tions of a patient, only the legs and breast, with the skin and 
fat removed, should be used, omitting the cream and all season¬ 
ing except the celery salt and a little common salt if desired, 
though a slice of toasted bread may be put in the broth, and the 
broth poured off from it before being given to the patient. 

Oyster Broth. —Stew half a dozen fresh oysters for five 
minutes in a half pint of water. Add a little common salt and 
a pinch of celery salt, if at hand, as a flavor. A toasted cracker 
may be stewed with the oysters, and the broth strained off. For 
convalescents, a soup may be made by using half milk, with less 
water, and otherwise seasoning and enriching it according to the 
taste and condition of the patient. If the patient is in condi¬ 
tion to eat any portion of the oyster, the gristle part should be 
removed. 

Vegetable Soups. —Vegetable soups are not usually as desir¬ 
able for sick people as farinaceous and meat preparations. They 
may be made for invalids however when desired, modifying them 
as to richness and seasoning according to the directions of the 
physician. 

Nourishment by Injection. —Patients frequently, by rea¬ 
son of some disease of the throat or stomach, or a delicate state of 


168 


CARE OF THE SICK. 


the stomach, are unable to take or retain food. In such cases 
nourishment may be given by injection, and the patient be thus 
sustained until the difficulty is removed. For this pur¬ 
pose use the beef extract, but without any salt or pepper. A 
beaten egg and an ounce or so of wine or spirits may be mixed 
with the extract, especially when a speedy action is required, as 
in case of sinking. 

CONVALESCENCE. 

A patient is said to be convalescent when the crisis of the dis¬ 
ease has passed favorably, and he is on the road to recovery; as, 
in the case of fevers, when the fever has been fully overcome. 
In the convalescent state it may be said that the disease has been 
fully mastered, but that the effects of it remain, but with care 
and good fortune will be overcome by slow process. An attack 
of disease upon a person may be likened to the invasion of a 
country by a hostile army; the invading army may conquer, as 
the disease may conquer; or it may be overcome, defeated, and 
driven away or destroyed; but the effects, the havoc of the 
invasion, will remain for years, and can only be overcome by the 
patient industry of the people. A person in the first stages of 
convalescence after a severe attack of a prostrating disease, is 
necessarily very weak. The digestive organs are enfeebled by 
non-use, and by the general depletion of the system ; the mus¬ 
cular power is weak from the same causes; the circulation is 
weak by reason of the impoverishment of the blood; the mag¬ 
netic forces or the vital energies are weak, because of the weak¬ 
ness of all the functions and conditions of the economy on which 
they depend for their action. In such a condition a strong man 
is but a child; he is more easily controlled than a child, is sus¬ 
ceptible to sympathy, and will weep many times upon its mani¬ 
festation. Hence the necessity of care and caution as well in 
the habits as the diet of the convalescent patient, directions in 
regard to which should be sought from the physician and from 
those best informed in such matters. 

Gruel for Convalescents. —Take a clean cooking vessel, 
place in it a quart of soft water, and bring to a boil over a brisk 
fire ; when it boils add a small lump of butter, and when this is 
melted add two large tablespoonfuls of cornmeal, which must be 
first mixed with a little water so as to form a thin paste ; stir 


CONVALESCENCE. 


169 


moderately as it is poured in, so that it will mix well with the 
water, and let boil for about an hour, stirring frequently; then 
add a gill of sweet milk, and let come to a boil, and throw in a 
small handful of the upper crust of hard baked bread cut in 
small pieces, adding a little salt. Add also (unless in a feverish 
condition of the patient), a little black pepper, a pinch of grated 
mustard, a tablespoonful of best French brandy, and a little 
more butter, and as the case improves and the appetite returns, 
increase the amount of milk and bread crumbs, and stir in the 
yolk of an egg, boiled hard and crushed. 

Oatmeal Gruel. —Make same as above, using only one 
heaping tablespoonful of fresh ground oatmeal. 

Calves’ Feet Jelly.— Made by boiling calves’ feet in water 
for several hours, straining, and allowing the decoction to cool. 
It may be sweetened, if desired, while warm, but should not be 
spiced, though a little wine or spirits may be added to give it 
flavor. It is a good and nutritious article of die for conva¬ 
lescents if not partaken of too freely. 

Wine Gruel. —First take a gill of cranberries, mash them,, 
and add a gill of water; boil a tablespoonful of corn meal or oat¬ 
meal in three pints of water for half an hour; then add the cran¬ 
berry and water, some sugar, a half gill of sherry wine, and lemon, 
flavoring; boil five minutes, and strain. Any good quality of 
domestic wine may be used in place of the sherry. 

Egg and Milk. —Break an egg boiled for a minute, into a 
teacupful of hot milk, stir briskly till thoroughly mixed. Sea¬ 
son with salt. 

GENERAL REMARKS. 

It seems hardly necessary to impress the fact that the lighter 
or stronger preparations, both in liquid and solid form, 
should be given according to the nature and progress of any 
disease. In most acute diseases, especially in fevers and violent 
inflammations, no solid food should be given until the crisis 
is passed. And in all fevers, all stimulating foods and drinks 
should be withheld until convalescence, and must then be 
given with great caution, as they may occasion a fatal relapse. 
The juice of ripe acid fruits may be freely taken during fevers, 
carefully rejecting the solid matter, as the pulp, seeds and skin. 

11 


170 


CARE OF THE SICK. 


SYMPTOMS IN DISEASE. 

The symptoms below named occurring in the diseases as stated, 
■should be regarded as alarming, requiring either prompt and 
energetic treatment or careful inquiry and solicitude on the part 
■of the persons in charge. 

Acute Diseases. —Acute diseases are those that attack sud¬ 
denly, and reach their climax within a comparatively short time, 
although by long continuance, the diseases themselves, or the 
latent effects of them, become chronic. In the critical stages of 
:acute diseases, in addition to the dangerous symptoms mentioned 
under special heads, coma, lethargy and disposition to sleep, con¬ 
fusion of ideas, loss of memory, etc., may be regarded as 
alarming. 

Diseases of the Brain. —Great anxiety; convulsions; con¬ 
fusion of ideas and thoughts, with loss of memory; difficulty of 
swallowing. 

Childbirth. —Convulsions immediately before, after, or dur¬ 
ing labor, especially if attended after labor with lethargy and 
disposition to sleep. 

Croup. —Great difficulty of breathing, especially if the breath¬ 
ing is loud, crowing, rough, croaking, or hissing; and in False 
Croup when followed by convulsions, inflammation of the lungs, 
or congestion of the brain. 

Chronic Diseases. —Chronic diseases are those that come on 
gradually, and frequently as complications from various morbid 
conditions. Piles are usually chronic. The resultant diseases 
from Syphillis are chronic. So Liver Complaint, heart affec¬ 
tions, Diseases of the Blood, etc. Diarrhea occurring in the 
later stages of chronic diseases, is a dangerous symptom; so also 
hiccough or hiccup. 

Injuries. —Difficulty of breathing; great anxiety; lethargy 
and disposition to sleep; delirium and vomiting, in injuries to 
the head. 

Fevers. —Great anxiety; extreme difficulty of breathing; a 
constant disposition to sleep after the more severe symptoms 
have relaxed; convulsions; diarrhea; difficulty of swallowing; 
rigor or chills in advanced stages of fevers. 

Striking in of Eruptive Diseases. —A source of great anx¬ 
iety on the part of the patient; coma, lethargy, or a constant 


SYMPTOMS IN DISEASE. 


171 


•disposition to sleep; convulsions; confusion of ideas and thoughts; 
loss of memory, coughing, or a sudden cessation of cough, at¬ 
tended with prostration and debility. The striking in of any 
eruptive disease, as Small Pox, Measles, Scarlet Fever, etc., is 
always dangerous in itself, but when attended with the foregoing 
symptoms is doubly so. 

Small Pox. —When the pustules on the body flatten, and be¬ 
come dark colored, and those on the face assume a white, pasty 
appearance, and when there is violent fever, stupor, or delirium, 
with vomitings, and the pustules are crowded together. 

Other Symptoms. —Among other symptoms not classified 
•above, the following should also be noted : Extreme difficulty of 
breathing in consumption and inflammation of the lungs and 
other organs; delirium, in jaundice, in cessation of the urinary 
discharges, in consumption and other chest diseases; difficulty of 
swallowing, in diseases of the throat and stomach; conditions 
of the eye, as wandering, with a vacant or indefinite expression, 
when the pupils are turned up under the eyelids, when the eye 
is set, or the pupils greatly dilated or contracted, etc.; fainting 
.after profuse bleeding from any j>art, or with persons having 
hfiart disease ; hiccough, in the advanced stages of acute diseases, 
and in chronic diseases of long standing; hoarseness, in the early 
stages of scarlet fever, measles, small pox, and other eruptive 
diseases, especially where the patient spits a good deal; the 
absence of urine in the bladder, retention, or difficulty in passing 
the urine, and involuntary discharges from the bladder or 
bowels ; sudden cessation of pain in severe cases of local inflam¬ 
mation, especially inflammation of the bowels ; a constant lying 
on the back, with a tendency to sink toward the foot of the bed, 
is an unfavorable symptom; deep and frequent sighing occur- 
ing after profuse bleedings or other evacuations, and in the 
advanced stages of acute diseases; vomiting, when violent and 
continued, in the advanced stages of disease, when the matter 
discharged is dark, putrid and offensive, or filled with excre¬ 
ment. A presentiment of death, when constant in the patient’s 
mind, is a symptom of the utmost gravity, because a disease is 
often, in some inexplicable way, the sure prophet in the concep¬ 
tion of the patient, of its own termination, and because, too, the 
mental state of the patient has very much to do with the pro¬ 
gress and issue of disease. Many persons seem to resist disease 


172 


CARE OF THE SICK. 


by the mere force of will, while others give up. It makes a 
great deal of difference, after all, in storming a citadel, whether 
the garrison is willing or not, and death knows it. 

INDICATIONS OF APPROACHING DEATH. 

Any of the following groups of symptoms, occurring with per¬ 
sons sick of any mortal malady, may be regarded as indicating 
the near approach of final dissolution, and should prepare the 
minds of friends for that event, although of course they are not 
infallible indices, as persons with whom they are present some^ 
times rally and recover : 

1. Eyes sunken, temples hollow, nose pinched, ears drawn 
back and cold, skin of the forehead tense and dry, lips hanging - 
or open, cold, and relaxed, complexion dark or purplish. 

2. Picking the bedclothes, or grasping the air, throwing off 
the cover, twitchings of the tendons, grating the teeth, sleeping 
with the eyelids partly open, showing only the whites of the 
eyes, muttering during sleep, and awaking with a stare or vacant 
look. 

3. Purple spots upon the skin in fevers, with dark or purplish 
cheeks and lips, sudden flushings followed by extreme paleness,, 
and slight oozing of blood. 

4. Rattling of mucous in the throat, called the “ rattles,” in 
the advanced stages of disease. 

5. Swellings on the legs and skin, which pit on pressure,, 
occurring in the advanced stages of chronic disease, and also the 
sudden disappearance of swellings that have existed for some 
time. 

6. Small ulcerous formations on the lips, gums or tongue, of a 
whitish character, occurring in advanced stages of disease when 
the system is much debilitated. 

EVIDENCES THAT DEATH HAS ENSUED. 

Dunglison’s Medical Dictionary defines death as the “ defini¬ 
tive cessation of all the functions, the aggregate of which consti¬ 
tute life. Real death is distinguished from asphyxia, or appar¬ 
ent death, the latter being merely a suspension of those same 
functions. But it is often difficult to judge of such suspension, 
and the only certain sign of real death is the commencement 
of putrefaction. At times, therefore, great caution is necessary 


DISINFECTANTS. 


173 


to avoid mistakes.” Death is generally understood to have 
ensued when all of the following phenomena are present: Insen¬ 
sibility to pain, as on pinching or pricking the skin; the eye is 
fixed and glassy, and does not respond to any moving object 
immediately before it, or when placed in contact with it; absence 
of pulsation in the temples, on the wrist, or elsewhere about the 
body; the heart cannot be heard to beat when the ear is laid 
.against the body over the heart; coldness of every part; the 
flesh inert, retaining impressions like dough or putty; a looking- 
glass held close to the mouth and nose shows no vapor or mois¬ 
ture on its surface. 

DISINFECTANTS. 

The sick chamber requires a frequent use of disinfectants, or 
more properly, in ordinary diseases, deodorizing agents. In 
-contagious diseases disinfectants may be used during the pro¬ 
gress of the disease, and should always be employed upon the 
termination of any such disease. For this purpose, and for dis¬ 
infectants generally, see formulas under the head of “Disin¬ 
fectants ” elsewhere in this work. For the ordinary uses of the 
,sick chamber the following will probably be found sufficient: 

1. Bring to a boiling heat a quart or more of good strong vin¬ 
egar, and pour it on a collection of fragrant herbs, as prickly 
ash bark or berries, juniper berries, sage, balm, catnip, summer 
savory, spikenard, spearmint, celery, any or all of them, or any 
others of like character, adding, if at hand, a few cloves and an 
ounce of powdered camphor. Cover the vessel to prevent the 
-escape of the steam. When cold it may be freely sprinkled 
about the room or the patient’s bed. 

2. Put a teaspoonful of the saturated solution of permanganate 
of potassa in a soup plate or other broad-surfaced earthen dish 
partly filled with water. Renew the solution when the pink 
oolor disappears. 

3. A bit of sealing wax the size of a pea, or a bit of rosin, 
burned on the stove or on a live coal, so removed from the chim¬ 
ney that the odor will permeate the room, or a little ground cin¬ 
namon, a few grains of coffee, cloves or other spices, a bit of 
onion skins, or a pinch of brown sugar, if the smoke does not 
distress the patient, will either of them be found a good deo¬ 
dorizer. 


CARE OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 


174 

4. Carbolic acid mixed with water, 1 part of the acid to 25 
parts of water, sprinkled about a sick room, is among the best 
disinfectants. 

Remarks. —Burning cotton or paper to disguise the offen¬ 
sive odor of the excretions from sick persons, so combines with 
the latter as to be scarcely less offensive than the excretions 
themselves. The practice should give place to some one of the 
foregoing simple methods, or to some other equally good. 


CARE OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 

On the problem how to manage children, there will probably 
be about as many opinions as there are people. The proverb, 
“ Spare the rod and spoil the child,” has warmed many a boy's- 
jacket and soured his temper, where a little gentle chiding and 
a few words addressed to his better sense would have won his- 
confidence and added to the edifice of self-respect that should 
be reared in the breast of every child. The proverb is good as 
impressing the importance of discipline in rearing the young, 
but like many others its literal application can hardly be recom¬ 
mended. It is said that the world is governed too much, and it 
is equally true that children are governed too much. If a child 
is to be punished, the punishment should be proportioned to the 
gravity of the offense, but where this is the case in one instance 
there are nine other cases in which the degree of punishment is 
determined by the degree of anger on the part of the parent 
inflicting it, and this anger in many cases due to causes wholly 
extraneous to the child or its offense. So that the child is often 
the escape-valve for the bottled-up anger of the parent. Many 
a child is punished for disobedience far beyond the merits of the 
dereliction, simply to appease the anger and exasperation of the 
parent because he has been disobeyed—not because of any great, 
wrong resulting from the disobedience itself. Parents do not 
realize these facts at the time, but those who give way to such 
impulses will pay for it by many a pang of regret in after life. 
It is indeed questionable if a parent ever inflicted bodily punish¬ 
ment upon a child as a deliberate act; it is only done under the 
impulse of anger or irritation of some sort. A rational correc- 



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CARE OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 175 

tion of children is good, but despotism and tyranny exercised 
upon a nation will crush out a spirit of manly independence, and 
so will a parental despotism have the same effect upon children. 
Robert G. Ingersoll said well when he said, “ I believe in the rights 
of children.” 

Of all things, children should as far as possible be allowed the 
widest latitude in the law of natural selection. By this they 
will grow naturally. By the law of constraint they will grow 
gnarled and dwarfed. Think of the folly of “spanking” a 
young infant because it cries; or of whipping a child at any age 
to make it stop crying. The shock may cause a revulsion in the 
child, and divert the nerve forces that find expression in the act 
of crying, and thus quiet the spasm. But no child ever yet 
ceased its crying by an effort of the will, nor did any child ever 
get up a crying spell in obedience to a mental resolution. It is 
an impulse like mirth, anger, hate, love, neither of which are 
obedient to the will. And who has not at some time witnessed 
the struggles of a child to cease crying when threatened witli 
punishment, or under its infliction? The convulsions are 
sometimes thrown partly within, and ultimate themselves in 
sobs and moans; in which case the parent may have earned a, 
partial respite from the annoyance at the price of a deep injury 
to the child. No child should be checked suddenly or rudely 
either in its grief or mirth. 

Young infants are absolutely without volition or will power in 
any degree. The phenomena of infancy are purely effects result¬ 
ing from physical causes—they are chemical reactions from varied 
combinations. Unless a child be manifestly ailing, the duty of 
the nurse and mother should be, not to try to manage it, but to 
let it manage them. They are literally its servants. It is a 
little machine, that will run best if allowed to run itself. It does 
not consult the nurse about its evacuations, nor should it about 
its eating. Let it eat when it seems to desire it, and if it eats 
too much, nature provides the corrective in the ease with which 
the surplus is thrown off the stomach. If the baby wants to cry, 
let it cry. Crying was the first hard work it ever did, and it 
ought to have a patent on it for a few months, at least. It is 
necessary to develop the lungs and keep the circulation active. 
Later on, playing, laughing, talking, halloing, do the work that 
the crying does in the earlier months, and the crying subsides. 


176 CARE OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 

It has done its office, and is laid aside with the baby's swaddling 
clothes. This, of course, refers to the occasional paroxysms of a 
child when in health, and not to the frequent peevish, plaintive 
cries of disease, or to the violent and excessive crying that is 
liable to produce disease or rupture. These require to be checked 
by soothing care, but not by “ soothing syrups," or any of the 
villainous compounds that are so freely administered. 

When the child is born, cleansed and dressed, it is laid on its 
mother’s arm, and is then her charge. It has a claim upon her 
care, and to the milk from her breast, and she has no right to 
withhold either, if in health. 

DRESSING THE BABY. 

As soon as the child is born, it should be wrapped in a soft, 
warm woolen blanket, and should be in a warm room. The skin 
should be anointed with Sweet Oil, then wash the child all over, 
using care in handling; and be especially particular to thoroughly 
wash and clean the head, armpits, groins, between and about the 
buttocks and the folds of the skin, using a soft linen cloth, and 
the finest and best castile soap. Cleanse the eyes and mouth 
with clear, coo], water. The skin should be dried and a little 
rice powder dusted on it. The navel should be dressed by tak¬ 
ing a fine piece of old, well worn linen cloth about six inches 
square, fold it once, and cut a small hole say half an inch in 
diameter, about an inch and a half from one end of the folded 
piece; singe the edges of the hole over a candle, then smear the 
cloth with mutton tallow, Vaseline or some other grease; pass 
the cord through the hole, placing the greased side of the cloth 
to the skin, lay the stump of the cord to the left side, so as to 
avoid pressure over the liver, then fold the loose end of the cloth 
over the cord and apply the bandage ; this had better be of cot¬ 
ton in summer, and woolen in winter, and should be pinned 
evenly and not too tight. The child having been dressed warmly, 
its mouth should be washed with a little cold water, allowing it 
to swallow a teaspoonful or less of the water. No mixtures such 
as molasses, whisky, herb teas, or similar articles that are so fre¬ 
quently given, should under any circumstances be allowed. 
Place the child as soon as it is dressed to its mother's breast, and 
the first milk drawn will be all the medicine it will require. And 
it will benefit the mother too, as the nursing will cause the 
uterus to firmly contract. 


MOTHER AND CHILD. 


177 


MOTHER AND CHILD. 

Though for the first few days the child is necessarily in care of 
the nurse, it soon becomes the legitimate charge of the mother. 
The dressing of the little one is to her both a duty and a pleas¬ 
ure ; and, especially if it be a first child, the young mother finds 
herself doing a practical work, with the elements of which she 
became familiar in her younger days in dressing her doll. The 
following rules for dressing infants are grouped in separate par¬ 
agraphs for the sake of convenience : 

1. The belly-band has two objects : first, to keep the navel 
dressing in place ; and second, to support the walls of the abdo¬ 
men where the navel protrudes, else the intestines might force 
themselves upon the weak part and occasion a rupture. For this 
reason the belly-band should be drawn reasonably tight, though 
not too tight—say about like a close-fitting stocking. 

2. This part of the dressing should be attended to once a day, 
gently rubbing the child's body with the hand when the band is 
removed, but using care not to exercise the child or turn it on 
its belly until the band is replaced. 

3. The part should be cleansed at each dressing with warm 
soft water and castile soap, and the navel dressing itself should 
be renewed as it becomes soiled, being careful in all cases to keep 
the cord in the same position, namely, on the left side. 

4. The cord should be examined, and if there is bleeding, 
make another ligature immediately below the one first made. 
Should there be bleeding after the navel string has dropped off, 
bind on for some days a flat pad of lint or folded cloth, dipped 
in some astringent infusion, as burnt Alum water, changing say 
morning and night. Should there be a tendency to mortifica¬ 
tion, sprinkle the part with powdered Sulphate of Zinc or burnt 
Alum, and apply Slippery Elm poultice. 

5. The belly-band when of flannel should be cut bias, so that 
it will hold its shape better. 

6. In moist and humid climates a child's under-dressing (as 
well as that of persons of all ages), should be of flannel. 

7. It is not well to change a child's clothing too often, except 
when it becomes soiled by the passages. 

8. The attentive mother will not allow her child to remain 


178 


CARE OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 


wet or unclean from its own passages, but will change it at once' 
on becoming aware of its condition. 

9. Cleanse the diapers by washing in all cases; do not dry and 
use them over after being wet by the child. 

10. A child's dress should always be dry and warm; it should 
be loose, and as free from pins as possible. 

NURSING. 

The following general rules should govern in nursing, presum¬ 
ing, of course, that the mother and child are in health: 

1. Give the child the breast as soon as it will take it. 

2. Do not allow the child to draw on an empty breast, but in 
such case feed it artificially. 

3. Let the child nurse, especially during the first few weeks, 
whenever it seems to desire it. Later on it is well to accustom 
it to regular intervals, gradually lessening their frequency. 

4. Mothers, by a natural instinct, frequently withdraw the 
nipple from the child during its nursing. This is well, and serves 
the same purpose as leisurely eating with adults. 

5. A nursing mother should be careful of her diet. Pure 
bread, oatmeal, and nourishing soups, are milk-producing. 
Meats are strengthening, but their free use is not desirable; but- 
the food that agrees with the mother will generally be found to- 
agree with the child. 

6. Stimulants should be avoided, as a rule, but a little spirits 
in a glass of milk, or good English ale or porter in moderation 
will many times be found beneficial. 

7. The mother should exercise judiciously in the open air, but 
avoid exposures to cold. 

8. Take moderate recreation when practicable, but never to- 
the neglect of the child; keep an even temper, cultivate a serene 
and pleasant state of mind, do not become fretful, impatient or 
angry, nor allow the blood to become over-heated. 

9. Give the child both breasts, for by holding it on both sides, 
its growth will not be one-sided. 

10. The child should lodge with the mother during the first 
few weeks or months. All persons sustain a magnetic relation 
to each other, and in view of the intimate relation of mother and 
child during pregnancy, the mother's magnetic relation to the 
child should not be too suddenly interrupted; she can contri- 


NUKSING. 179 

bute to its strength by external contact after the termination of 
the more intimate relation. 

11. Women sometimes become pregnant while nursing; in 
such cases the child should be taken from the breast. 

12. If a mother be sick, the child should not nurse; in this, 
or in any case where it is deprived of breast milk, cows’ milk is* 
the best substitute. For young infants the milk should be 
drawn continuously from the same cow, and should not be 
mixed with any other, and should be diluted half and half with 
water, or a greater proportion of water for very young infants,, 
increasing the proportion of milk with the age of the child. 
Sugar of milk may be used for sweetening, but it is best not to 
sweeten with common sugar, as it is liable to produce acidity of' 
the stomach. Goats’ milk and mares’ milk is regarded by some 
as preferable to cows’ milk. 

13. For artificial feeding, the rubber nipple and nursing bottle 
are best; they should be kept carefully cleansed and sweet. 

14. The natural attitude of a child in nursing is partly reclin¬ 
ing and partly upright; and this should be observed in artificial 
nursing. 

15. In artificial feeding, feed slowly, and not too much at a 
time. 

16. Never exercise a child much, or turn it on its belly, or toss 
it about, after feeding. 

Weaning. —There is no arbitrary time for weaning a child 
from the breast. It should not be done earlier than the ninth 
or tenth month, and usually not later than the fifteenth or 
sixteenth month. It should not be done during hot weather. 
Some writers say a good time to wean is when the child has four' 
teeth; others that the best time is when it has twelve teeth, 
when there usually follows an interval of some months in the 
teething. 

Cracked Nipples. —Equal weights of Glycerine, Rose 
Water and Tannin, rubbed together in an ointment, is effica¬ 
cious. May also be used for children chafing. Other prescrip¬ 
tions relating to difficulties of nursing mothers will be found om 
page 151. 


180 


CARE OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 


HEALTH PRECAUTIONS. 

Health precautions in the case of nursing infants are impor¬ 
tant both to mother and child. The following will be found 
suggestive on this head. 

1. Wash a child during the first few months once a day, with 
tepid water; if it be a vigorous child, especially in summer, the 
water may be of the temperature of the room. 

2. Dry a child after washing by the application of a soft linen 
towel pressed gently upon it, but not by rubbing. 

3. Rub the body gently with the hand once or twice a day, 
especially the chest, back, and limbs. 

4. Do not confine a child too much to the close air of a nurs¬ 
ery, but give it plenty of fresh air. 

5. Be careful not to expose a child to a cold atmosphere, for 
obvious reasons; but, 

6. Allow a temperate air free access to its body during its 
dressing, and at other times. 

7. A child’s head should be cleansed, and kept as scrupulously 
•clean as its body. 

8. The bowel passages of a nursing child should be of a bright 
orange color; when there is any marked change from this, a 
mild cathartic, as Magnesia, Castor Oil, or the Compound Syrup of 
Rhubarb and Potassa should, be given. 

9. Should there be enlargement of the abdomen (or bloating), 
paleness, and softening of the flesh, they indicate disease requir¬ 
ing medical treatment. A bad breath indicates a deranged 
stomach, or worms. 

10. For chafing, scorch a bit of linen cloth, rub it with mut¬ 
ton suet and lay it between the surfaces. Or, Simple Cerate, 
or Vaseline, may be rubbed upon the part as an ointment, or 
powdered starch sprinkled on the surface. Frequent cleansing 
with cool water is important, to which Tannic Acid may be added, 
about a teaspoonful to a half pint of water. Washing with Car¬ 
bolic Acid soap (which may be had at any drug store), is among 
the best of applications for chafing. 

11. For washing a child, the best quality of castile soap only, 
should be used if it can be procured. 

12. The air in the upper portions of dwellings, more especially 
where they are artificially warmed, is warmer than near the floor. 


SIGNS OF DISEASE IN CHILDREN-TEETHING. '181 

If an infant be held in the arms of its mother or nurse for a time, 
the air at the ordinary “height being considerably warmer than 
nearer the floor, and then seated on the floor or placed in a low 
crib, it is very likely to take cold. 

SIGNS OF DISEASE IN CHILDREN. 

1. A baby with the stomach-ache utters long, loud, and pas¬ 
sionate cries, and sheds tears plentifully ; suddenly it stops for a 
moment, and then begins again, drawing up its legs to the stom¬ 
ach, and, as the pain passes off, stretching them out again, and 
with many sobs passing off into a gentle sleep. 

2. If there be inflammation in the chest, it neither cries con¬ 
tinuously nor sheds tears, but after every long breath or hacking 
cough, it utters a short cry, which is cut off before it is half 
finished, as if crying were painful. 

3. If the seat of a child’s trouble be in the head, the cries will 
be sharp, piercing shrieks, with low moans and wails between, 
or there will be quiet dozing, interrupted by starting pains. 

4. When the following symptoms are observed, or any of them, 
in a child, it is either ill, or has some illness impending : Loss- 
of appetite ; fretfulness ; limp and tired appearance; sleepiness; 
restlessness, or unusual thirst; hot skin; vomiting more than 
usual; purging or costiveness of the bowels ; if the child loses 
its merry laugh and cheerful look, clings to its mother or nurse, 
and will not be out of her arms; or if lulled to sleep in her 
arms, wakens on being placed in its cot. 

Observing the foregoing symptoms, the mother will be put 
upon inquiry as to her child’s condition, and while she cannot 
anticipate what form disease may take, it will be proper to 
bestow increased care and watchfulness, and to administer sjich 
mild treatment as the symptoms may indicate. 

TEETHING. 

Teething begins at the fifth to tenth month, and in some cases 
earlier than the fifth month. It is marked by various symptoms ; 
driveling from the mouth, heat and swelling of the gums, flush¬ 
ing of the cheeks, slight eruptions on the face and scalp, starting 
in sleep, change in the color of the stools, disturbances in the 
urine, with sometimes mattery discharges, fretfulness and shrieks 
on the part of the child, and thrusting its fingers in its mouth* 


182 


DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 


All these symptoms, of course, involve a general indisposition, 
which is usually more troublesome than dangerous, although in 
summer it is not free from peril to the child. The teeth usually 
make their own way through the gums, although it is sometimes 
necessary to use the lancet, and in such cases its use often averts 
other serious difficulties. Care, good nursing, moderate exercise, 
fresh air, and a lowering of the diet, are good hygienic agencies 
during teething. Some medication that will act on the bowels 
and urinary organs is usually required, and for these, use the 
milder remedies under the heads respectively of “ Cathartics ” and 
“ Diuretics,” elsewhere in this work. Also the Compound Syrup 
of Rhubarb and Potassa (see page 29). A simple and efficacious 
diuretic may be made by mixing 20 grains of Nitre with half an 
ounce of Syrup of Roses, giving a teaspoonful 2 or 3 times a day, 
or as seems necessary. Shun all advertised nostrums and sooth¬ 
ing syrups, which contain narcotics (opium and its preparations) 
that often induce convulsions that are attributed to the teeth. 
A necklace made by stringing roots of henbane in the form of 
beads, and placing around the neck, has been used with advan¬ 
tage to allay the pain attending teething. 

LEARNING TO WALK. 

Be not in too much haste to teach a child to walk, but give 
its bones time to harden and the frame time to become compact. 
Let it have its full length of creeping days, and let it go through 
the tribulations of pulling itself up by a chair and tumbling 
over. It will develop its baby energy in this way, and when 
the time comes for it to walk it will not require much teaching. 


DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 

The more common diseases to which young children are sub¬ 
ject are treated of following. Treatment for other diseases com¬ 
mon to children and adults will be found in Division II of this 
part of the work. 

SUMMER COMPLAINT, OR CHOLERA INFANTUM. 

This is a disease not infrequent with children, and liable to 
be attended with fatal results. The earlier stages show many 



SUMMER COMPLAINT, OR CHOLERA INFANTUM. 183 

symptoms of illness, the most prominent of which are looseness 
of the bowels, nausea, vomiting, fever, etc., the bowel discharges 
usually marked by a sour, offensive smell. The disease prevails 
most in cities, owing to want of fresh air and proper ventilation, 
uncleanliness, and impure food, though it occurs in the country 
under like conditions, and especially from eating unripe fruits 
and too many green vegetables. 

Upon the first appearance of the symptoms, the Compound 
Syrup of Rhubarb and Potassa under the head of “ Medical 
Preparations’’ should be given if it can be obtained, or given at 
any time during the disease when obtained. Or give the Spiced 
Syrup of Rhubarb, obtainable at any drug store. 

The diet should be light, as farina, arrow-root, beef tea, 
chicken broth, etc. (See “Cookery for the Sick.”) A little 
wine or other light stimulant may be incorporated with the food. 
A weak decoction of lime-water or soda may be given to neutral¬ 
ize the acidity of the stomach. A little pounded or shaven ice 
in a cloth or bag, placed in the mouth after the manner of a 
sucking-bag, may be found preferable to water to quench thirst. 
A mustard plaster, with a large admixture of cornmeal to prevent 
too powerful an action, should be placed over the stomach and 
abdomen while the vomiting continues; the method of making 
and applying the mustard plaster will be found under the head 
of “Medical Preparations.” If the mustard acts too powerfully 
replace it with flannel cloths wrung out from a mixture of hot 
vinegar and whisky. 

CROUP. 

Croup usually arises from exposure to cold in some form. 
'The symptoms may be divided into first and second stages, as 
follows: 

1. Difficult breathing; a peculiar ringing sound of the voice, 
as if the sound were sent through a metal tube; breathing quick 
and hissing; cough; quick pulse; restlessness; fever; distress 
exhibited in the countenance. 

2. Cough husky and suffocative; voice whispering; breathing 
wheezing; countenance pale; head thrown back; pupils dilated; 
pulse quick and weak; tongue coated and purplish at the edges; 
stools dark and fetid; extremities grow cold; countenance sinks; 
great restlessness and distress, followed by death. 


184 


DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 


Treatment. —When the symptoms are clearly indicated,, 
send at once for a physician. But without waiting for his 
arrival, give an emetic of Alum or Ipecac (see “ Emetics ”), re¬ 
peated within 15 or 20 minutes, until the child vomits freely. Do 
not delay this, and if one article cannot be had, use another, as 
a free-acting emetic is the first essential. At the same time 
apply a cloth in several thicknesses wrung from water as hot as 
can be borne, to the neck and upper part of the chest, and the 
child may be wrapped in hot flannels, and the feet and legs 
wrapped with cloths wrung from hot water or hot vinegar, or 
drafts of mustard and roasted onions, which is better. 

As soon as the breathing becomes easier, rub some lard on a 
piece of muslin, sprinkle on it some Scotch snuff, and place it 
on the throat and chest instead of the hot cloth, changing 3 or 
4 times during the day, but leave it off if it seems to sicken or 
nauseate the child too much. Let the child inhale through the day 
(if old enough) the warm vapor of vinegar, infused with Mullen 
leaves. Prickly Ash, Tansy, Juniper, Hops, or some similar herb. 
An expectorant, or something that will loosen the phlegm, 
should be given, as a few drops of goose oil on sugar; a decoc¬ 
tion of warm vinegar and honey, a teaspoonful or more at a 
time; or give the Antispasmodic Tincture in doses of 5 to 10 
drops. Give Castor Oil or some other cathartic, if costive. For 
an ordinary drink, Flaxseed tea or Slippery Elm tea, with a little 
lemon juice or vinegar to give it pungency, and a little sweeten¬ 
ing if desired. The food should be light. 

Croup usually attacks at night. If a fresh attack supervenes,, 
follow the same treatment. But to guard against fresh attacks,, 
keep the feet and body warm, and avoid all exposures until the 
child has fully recovered its strength and vitality. 

SPASMODIC CROUP. 

This affection, sometimes called “ False Croup,” usually comes 
on at night, and has many of the symptoms of croup, but with¬ 
out fever or cough. Spasmodic or convulsive contraction of the 
muscles of the extremities will be observed, and the difficulty in 
drawing in the breath , but not in letting it out, as in croup. 
Spasmodic Croup can hardly be called a disease, but is rather the 
result of a condition of the system, and the spasms may recur 
during a period of several months. They may be immediately 


SPASMODIC CROUP—WHOOPING-COUGH. 185 

brought on by fretting, straining, exercise, rapid feeding, an 
inflamed state of the gums while teething, and, if a nursing child, 
by mental emotions of the mother, as grief, anger, joy, etc. In 
the latter case the child should be withdrawn from the breast 
and artificially fed for a few days. During an attack, raise the 
child to a sitting posture, and sprinkle the face and ply the head 
freely with cold water, and place the child in a warm bath for 
fifteen or twenty minutes, keeping the same posture and contin¬ 
uing the cold water application until the spasm passes off. Pat¬ 
ting the child with the flat hand smartly (though not roughly) 
on the back has a good effect, and if Ammonia or Hartshorn be 
at hand apply it to the nostrils. Some Wine of Ipecac or other 
emetic should be given if there are any symptoms of choking. 
If the attacks recur, the physician will inquire the cause and 
seek to remove it. 

WHOOPING-COUGH. 

This is among the contagious diseases of childhood. Young" 
infants usually escape it, and frequently people reach the age of 
twenty years or more before having it. It is perhaps best that 
very young infants should not have it, as it may lead to danger¬ 
ous convulsions; but after a child has been weaned and cut its 
teeth, there is no good reason for trying to screen it from Whoop¬ 
ing-cough. Indeed, any time between March and October, it- 
were better that children be exposed to it; it is well to avoid it- 
during cold weather, as the latent effects are liable to linger ini 
the system. Young children usually have it but lightly, while 
the paroxysms increase in severity with age. It is hardly neces¬ 
sary to describe the symptoms at length. The disease begins 
with a cough, which increases in intensity for about ten days, 
when it is clearly indicated by the unmistakable “ whoop,” which 
is occasioned by the sudden passage of air into the wind-pipe 
after the air in the lungs has been exhausted by the paroxysm of 
coughing. Under favorable conditions the disease usually runs 
about six weeks, but this may be extended to double the time 
or even longer, depending upon the condition of the child and 
the time of year. 

Treatment. —Care and attention, especially in the matter of 
clothing, and protection from the cold and damp, are of the first 
importance. But in warm weather, and even in moderately cold 
12 


186 


DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 


weather (if well clad), the child should be given the freedom of 
the open air, especially after the first few days. It will be well 
to rub the chest and back night and morning with a preparation 
of Oil of Cloves 2 parts, Oil of Amber 3 parts, Camphorated Oil 
10 parts. In ordinary cases, little change from the usual diet 
will be necessary. 

Tonic Mixture. —As a tonic, and also to loosen the cough, 
give the following during the progress of the disease : 


I£. Sulphate of Quinine. 2 scruples. 

Fluid Extract of Lobelia. 30 drops. 

Fluid Extract of Belladonna. 20 drops. 

Water.. 6 ounces. 


Mix, and give a teaspoonful 3 times a day. 

Lotion for Whooping-Cough. —The following treatment 
will many times break up Whooping-cough, and in all cases will 
greatly modify its severity and duration : 


Bromide of Potassium. 40 grains. 

Syrup. 1 ounce. 

Water. 1 ounce. 


Mix. Dose. —For child 3 or 4 years old give 1 teaspoonful every 3 or 4 
hours. 

Also apply to the chest night and morning the following Lin¬ 


iment : 

1$. Oil Sassafras. 3 drachms. 

Sweet Oil. 4 drachms. 

Chloroform. 3 drachms. 

Tincture Opium.4 drachms. 

Spirits Camphor.4 drachms. 

Spirits Turpentine.4 drachms. 


Mix, and use from £ to 1 teaspoonful by painting over the lungs and 
throat. 

Carbolic Acid for Whooping-Cough. —Whooping-cough 

is supposed to be occasioned by a fungus, or microscopic animal 
life, existing in the air passages. Carbolic Acid is an enemy to 
the lower organisms. Upon exposure to Whooping-cough, or 
during its continuance, make a weak solution of Carbolic Acid 
in water, and evaporate slowly over a spirit lamp for half an hour 
twice a day, in the room where the child sleeps or is at play; 
the windows and doors of the room should be closed during the 
time. 















WORMS-MINOR DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 


187 


WORMS. 

Paleness around the lips, a dark and sunken appearance around 
the eyes, itching of the nose, flushing of the face, starting in 
the sleep, grating of the teeth, etc., indicate the presence of 
worms in the stomach. 

Treatment. —Take 20 grains Santonine, mix thoroughly 
with a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, divide into 10 powders, 
and give one 3 times a day for 2 days, then give a dose of Castor 
Oil according to the age of the child ; but the “ Castor Oil Cus¬ 
tard,” or “ Butter Oil,” may be used if preferred. The choking 
sensations, sometimes called a “rising of the worms,” may be 
•checked by a teaspoonful or two of salt water. Salt fish, plenty of 
salt with food, and onions, garlics, etc., with salt, are beneficial 
in case of worms ; fats and acids should be avoided. 

MINOR DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 

Inflammation of the Gums. —This is a difficulty fre¬ 
quently met with in unhealthy children, or those not properly 
cared for during teething. The gums become swollen, red or 
dark colored, and painful, with generally feverish symptoms, as 
hot skin, quick pulse, thirst, furred tongue, etc. In advanced 
cases there is ulceration and bleeding of the gums, decay and 
loosening of the teeth, offensive breath, and offensive discharges 
from the mouth. 

Treatment. —Prepare a wash by steeping ^ ounce of ground 
Golden Seal in ^ pint of water, strain through a coarse cloth, 
add 1 teaspoonful powdered Borax, sweeten with honey, use as a 
gargle or wash every 1 or 2 hours, according to the severity of 
the case. A solution of Chlorate of Potash may be used as a 
gargle, alternating with the above. Keep the bowels regular 
with small doses of Compound Syrup of Rhubarb and Potassa, 
repeated twice or thrice daily. Control the fever with Fluid 
Extract of Aconite, 1 drop in 1 teaspoonful water every 2 or 3 hours 
until perspiration ensues. If the child is weak and debilitated, 
Sulphate of Quinine in 1 grain doses, 2 or 3 times daily, may be 
given with advantage. 

Thrush. —Marked by white specks on the tongue, which 
many times increase in size and finally fall off, disclosing ulcer- 


188 


DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 


ation, with hot mouth, dribbling, bad breath, and many other 
similar symptoms. 

Treatment. —As there is in nearly all cases acidity of the 
stomach, the Compound Syrup of Rhubarb and Potassa should 
be administered in teaspoonful doses, repeated until a free move¬ 
ment of the bowels has taken place. A wash or gargle for the 
mouth may be prepared by steeping Sage and Gold Thread, and 
after the strength is extracted, strain through a coarse cloth, add 
powdered Borax and honey to sweeten, use every hour or two, 
swabbing the mouth so as to reach every part of the diseased 
surface. If ulcers form and do not readily heal with above wash, 
Carbolic Acid 1 part, water 10 parts, should be applied, by dip¬ 
ping a feather or camel hair brush in the solution and touching 
each ulcer with it. 

Sore Eyes, —Sore eyes, indicated by redness of the lids, 
with discharges that make the lids stick together, is liable to 
occur soon after the birth of young infants. A jet of breast 
milk thrown upon them, is a good remedy. Or a mild 
decoction of Slippery Elm and Peach Leaves, Witch-hazel, 
Solomon's Seal, or Bethroot, in warm water, will be good, laying 
a bit of clean linen, moistened with the liquid, over the eyes in 
obstinate cases. This affection, if properly treated, is not usually 
dangerous, though it sometimes results in permanent loss of 
sight. 

Swelling of Breasts. —There is a sensitiveness of the breasts 
of young infants which sometimes secrete a milky fluid, and a 
cold or injury of the part readily takes effect, producing swelling 
and sometimes ulceration. A mixture of Olive Oil and Tincture 
of Camphor rubbed upon the breast, with draughts of Mullen 
Leaves or Cabbage, will usually effect a cure. 

Snuffles. —Rub the nose and forehead with warm Goose Oil 
or Sweet Oil, or place a cloth wet with warm water over the same 
parts, or a mixture of vinegar and water, using care that the 
vinegar does not get into the eyes. If the trouble is persistent, 
give the Compound Syrup of Rhubarb and Potassa as a cathar¬ 
tic, and bathe the legs frequently in warm water and wrap with 
flannels. 

Wind Colic. —A few drops of Essence of Peppermint on a 
little sugar, placing the child on its belly on the lap and gently 


MINOR DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 


189 


tapping its back, a tea made of Catnip, Peppermint, Spearmint, 
Wood Soot, Aniseseed, Caraway, or Calamis Root, and wrapping 
the body of the child in warm flannel, are all remedies that may 
be employed, according to the obstinacy of the spasms. 

Constipation. —Open air exercise, the use of ripe fruits, 
cooked or uncooked (of the proper kind), oatmeal and cornmeal 
gruel, are the first remedies that should be employed. If not 
effective, use the Soap Cone Injection under the head of “ Cathar¬ 
tics." As internal remedies, use Castor Oil, the Castor Oil Cus¬ 
tard, or Butter Oil, under the same head, or the Compound Syrup 
of Rhubarb and Potassa under “ Medical Preparations." Should 
the simple remedies fail, a physician should be called, as some 
mechanical difficulty of the intestines may exist. 

Milk Crust, or Milk Scall. —This is common to young 
infants, usually appearing on the face, but sometimes on other 
parts of the body. The difficulty is likely to be connected with 
teething. 

Treatment. —The Compound Syrup of Rhubarb and Potassa 
should be given from time to time, in sufficient quantity to pro¬ 
duce free movements of the bowels. Wash the parts as clean as pos¬ 
sible with warm soft water and Carbolic Acid soap. Then take 1 
teaspoonful of sweet cream, and add 5 drops of pure Carbolic 
Acid, thoroughly mixing, and apply to the diseased parts with 
a feather or camel hair brush, allowing it to remain 24 hours, 
when the parts should again be washed and the sweet cream mix¬ 
ture applied as before. 

Chicken Pox. —This is among the milder forms of the con¬ 
tagious diseases of children. A languid, feverish condition is 
usually observed about a week after exposure, followed in two 
or three days by small scattered pimples, usually on the back 
of the neck, or on the forehead at the roots of the hair, that 
soon assume the form of vesicles or blisters, terminating in a 
scab the fourth or fifth day. There may be a recurrence of the 
eruptions, but the disease will not run more than ten days. The 
eruptions leave no scars, unless the child scratches the blisters 
open. Careful nursing is about all the treatment required, 
though a dose of Magnesia, with lemonade or some other slightly 
acid drink, may be beneficial. 

Convulsions or Fits. —Fits in children are usually caused 


190 


DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 


by irritations of teething, by the presence of worms in the intes¬ 
tines, and by undigested food in the stomach. 

Treatment.— If the child can swallow, five or ten drops of 
the Antispasmodic Tincture (see page 27) may be given every 
10 or 15 minutes until the convulsion passes off. If the child 
cannot swallow, £ teaspoonful of Assafetida may be dissolved in 
a small teacup of hot water, and when tepid thrown into the 
lower bowel with a small syringe. This usually allays the nerv¬ 
ous excitement and the child passes into a quiet sleep. The feet 
should be placed in hot mustard water, and mustard plasters- 
applied to the legs and stomach. Or the child may be placed 
for a few minutes in a warm bath, in which ground mustard has 
been stirred. 

As soon as the convulsion has passed off, the cause should be 
ascertained, and treatment administered for its removal. If 
from undigested food give an emetic to produce vomiting. If 
there is any evidence of worms give Santonine or some other 
worm medicine. 

Flatulency in Children. —It often arises from a mother’s 
impure milk; when it is so she should take the Compound 
Syrup of Rhubarb and Potassa ; and if not effectual, administer 
it to the infant. Also foment the child’s stomach with warm 
brandy and water, to which add a little salt. 

Squinting. —It is well known that in infancy there is not 
unfrequently a tendency to squint; this often passes away as 
the child increases in age; but it sometimes becomes quite a 
fixed habit, requiring a surgical operation for its permanent 
cure. A means of rendering this operation unnecessary by cur¬ 
ing the tendency in early life has been suggested, which is worthy 
of trial. A pair of spectacles is procured without any glasses in 
■*;hem. One of the orifices opposite the eye that squints is to be 
filled with thin horn or with ground glass, and in the centre of 
the horn or glass is to be made a small hole. It is obvious that 
to see with the squinting eye it is necessary for the child to look 
directly through the orifice in the centre. It will thus acquire 
the habit of looking forward toward one object, instead of look¬ 
ing to the right or left hand of it. It is not at all improbable 
that the slight squint, which in infancy is only a habit, may be 
remedied by this means. 


SOME GENERAL REMARKS. 


191 


SOME GENERAL REMARKS. 

The foregoing pages refer largely to the care and treatment of 
children during the first year or two of existence. Those points 
only have been touched upon that have seemed of the highest 
importance. There are a thousand things that might be written 
applicable to the care of children from early infancy to youth 
and puberty, but the limits of this work will not admit of so 
doing. "We pass over the intervening period therefore, and drop 
a few suggestive words to parents touching the crisis of life, the 
period of puberty. And if these words relate more to one sex 
than to the other, it is because there seems the greater need 
for it. 

Every mother is presumed to understand the nature of this crisis 
as relates to her daughters, because she has herself passed through 
it. (See comments also on page 148.) But important as it is to 
know the changes that take place in girlhood, and to give them 
a healthy direction, it is equally vital to understand the change 
to which boys are subject. Because this change is of a different 
character from that which occurs with girls, it is believed that 
mothers do not, as a rule, think much of it or of the vital con¬ 
sequences connected with it. 

The masculine attribute with boys usually undergoes a marked 
development about the age of fourteen. The mental and emo¬ 
tional effects are similar to those with girls. The physical pro¬ 
pensities are however much the more strongly developed with 
boys; with them it may be said to be an active development, 
and with girls a passive one. This is an age when, more than 
any other, a boy needs sympathy, and trust, and gentle guidance, 
such as a mother can -best give. An observing person will notice 
a tendency in boys at this age to be alone, or to consort in pairs 
with other boys of like age. Gently, and without the subject 
being aware of it, let him be kept from this. Keep his mind 
occupied, and direct his thoughts to high and noble objects. 
Especially keep before his mind, by reading or conversation, the 
history of noble and virtuous women. The faculties of manhood 
are in the bud and blossom, and if fertilized with good and pure 
thoughts, such will likely be the bent of his subsequent life. On 
the other hand, if from want of sympathy and proper training 
he falls into secret and destructive habits ; if his associations are 


192 


ACCIDENTS. 


such as to cultivate only gross thoughts—if his conversation 
refers largely, as is most likely to be the case, to the opposite sex, 
and that in a gross, vulgar and licentious way—this germinal crisis 
of his life will be impregnated with a corresponding sentiment, 
and breed in him an indelicate, low and depraved estimate of 
female character, fitting him for the life of a libertine, and to be 
the betrayer rather than the protector of woman. 


ACCIDENTS. 

In all cases of accidents of a serious nature, a physician should 
be summoned at once, but intelligent lay treatment should be 
employed until he arrives. Presence of mind is all important in 
the face of accidents and dangers, for without it any step that 
may be taken will more likely be the wrong than the right one. 

SUSPENDED ANIMATION. 

Suspended Animation, or Apparent Death, results from 
Asphyxia or Suffocation—a stoppage of the breath. This may 
come from hanging, drowning, from exposure to excessive cold, 
from inhaling some noxious vapor, or other cause. Apparent 
death is not necessarily real death. The person is there, with 
all of his functional machinery ready for action, and if it can be 
successfully put in motion, the person will live. A stricken 
person should not be given up as dead until the methods of 
resuscitation prescribed following have been thoroughly tried, 
and this trial, if not sooner successful, should be continued for 
two or three hours. 

DROWNING. 

The following is known as Marshall Hall's method of restoring 
animation in drowned persons, and is the one officially promul¬ 
gated by the British government and recognized elsewhere in 
maritime circles: 

1. Treat the patient instantly, on the spot, in the open air, 
exposing the face and chest to the breeze, except in severe 
weather. 

2, To clear the throaty place the patient gently face down- 




mmm 

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mm 


mmm 

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ssass®. 
































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DROWNING. 


193 


ward, with one wrist under the forehead ; in which position all 
fluids will escape by the mouth, and the tongue itself will fall 
forward, leaving the entrance into the windpipe free. Assist 
this operation by wiping and cleansing the mouth. 

If there he breathing, wait and watch; if not, or if it fail, 
then— 

3. To excite breathing , turn the patient well and instantly on 
his side, and— 

4. Excite the nostrils with Snuff, Hartshorn, Volatile Salts, 
.or tickle the throat with a feather, etc., and dash cold water on 
the face, having previously rubbed it warm. 

If there be no success, lose not a moment, but instantly 
begin— 

5. To imitate breathing , by replacing the patient on his face, 
raising the chest or breast well, and supporting it on a folded 
.coat or other article of dress. 

6. Very gently turn the body on the side, and a little beyond, 
then'bring it quickly back upon the face, repeating these turn¬ 
ings deliberately, efficiently, and perseveringly, about fifteen 
times in the minute, or one turn back and forth every four sec¬ 
onds, occasionally varying the side. These motions produce 
artificial breathing; for when the patient is placed upon his 
breast or face, the weight of the body compresses the lungs, and 
-expiration, or an expelling of air from them, takes place; and 
when he is turned on the side, this pressure is removed, and 
inspiration occurs, or a rush of air into the lungs. 

7. Every time the body is replaced upon the face, make regu¬ 
lar but efficient pressure, with brisk movements, on the back 
between and below the shoulder-blades on each side, stopping 
or ceasing the pressure immediately before turning the body on 
the side. This upward gliding pressure aids in expelling the air 
from the lungs ; by ceasing it, the air commences again to enter 
them. The result is natural breathing, and, if not too late, 
life. 

8. After breathing has been restored, promote the warmth of 
the body by the application of hot flannels, bottles or bladders of 
hot water, heated bricks or stones, etc., to the pit of the stom¬ 
ach, the armpits, between the thighs, and to the soles of the 
feet. 

9. To induce circulation and warmth , do not cease rubbing 


194 


ACCIDENTS. 


the limbs all this time upward, with firm, grasping pressure, and 
with energy, using handkerchiefs, flannels, etc. This rubbing 
upward causes the blood in the veins to flow towards the heart, 
and should be done by assistants. 

10. When the limbs are thus warmed and dried, clothe the 
body—the bystanders supplying the garments. 

On the restoration of life, a teaspoonful of warm water should 
be given; and then, if the power of swallowing has returned, 
small quantities of warm coflee, ginger tea, wine, brandy and 
warm water, etc. may be given By pursuing this treatment, 
perseveringly and energetically for several hours , many persons 
have been resuscitated; it is a mistaken opinion that death has 
occurred because life does not make its appearance in half an 
hour or an hour. 

Cautions to Bystanders.— 1. Send at once for a phy¬ 
sician, and for dry clothing. 2. Avoid all rough usage, and be 
very careful not to turn the body on the back. 3. Do not hold 
up the body by the feet for any reason. 4. Do not roll the body 
on barrels. 5. Do not rub the body with salt or spirits. 6. Do 
not inject tobacco smoke, or any infusion, into the bowels. 
7. Avoid the continuous warm bath. 8. Be especially careful 
to prevent persons crowding around the body. 

ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION. 

Among the first things to be done in case of suffocation from 
any cause, is to get the lungs to act. Specific directions for this 
in case of drowning are given under that head, because in such 
cases it will not do to place the patient on his back. In other 
cases the following method will be more convenient: Place the 
patient on his back, with the head and shoulders a little raised 
if there are two persons present, let one press the breast bone- 
inward, while the other with both hands extended upon the 
belly or abdomen presses well upward, then both remove the 
hands quickly and simultaneously, repeating until natural breath¬ 
ing is well established. The operation can be performed by one 
person, though not as well. Or the method prescribed in case 
of drowning may be used; and also excite the nostrils with 
Snuff, Hartshorn, or Volatile Salts, or tickle the throat with a. 
feather. 


SUFFOCATION-SU SPENDED ANIMATION. 


195- 


SUFFOCATION FROM HANGING. 

Remove all clothing from the upper part of the body, and 
restore breathing as directed under “ Artificial Respiration,” pre¬ 
ceding. 

CHARCOAL GAS AND OTHER NOXIOUS VAPORS. 

Remove the person at once into the open air, and sprinkle cold 
water upon the face and head, or dash cold water upon the face, 
throat and chest. Expel the foul gas from the lungs and excite 
respiration by the means prescribed for “ Artificial Respiration ” 
foregoing. As soon as there is breathing, hold strong vinegar 
under the nostrils ; or if the suffocation is from breathing Car¬ 
bonic Acid Gas, a solution of Chloride of Lime or Chloride of 
Soda is preferable; or moisten a cloth with either and hold under 
the nostrils until the patient has thoroughly recovered. If Oxy¬ 
gen gas can be procured it should be forced into the lungs. 
Excite warmth by similar means prescribed in cases of drown¬ 
ing, and give some stimulating drink when the patient can 
take it. 

FIRE-DAMP. 

What is called Fire-damp in mines, wells, etc., is an accumu¬ 
lation either of Carbonic Acid Gas or of Sulphuretted Hydrogen. 
Remove the stricken person at once, strip, and dash cold water 
freely upon the head, neck, chest, and back, and otherwise 
treat according to the last foregoing head. 

SUSPENDED ANIMATION FROM COLD. 

Handle the body carefully so as not to bend the joints. Have 
it in a cool place, and rub all over with snow or very cold water 
for fifteen or twenty minutes, and until the surface becomes 
red; then wipe it perfectly dry and let it be rubbed by the 
warm hands of several persons at once for five minutes or more, 
and then wrap the body in flannel (not warmed). Restore 
breathing by the same means as in “ Artificial Respiration.” 
Continue the treatment energetically several hours if necessary, 
until animation and respiration are fully restored, and when the 
patient can swallow, a little lukewarm water and wine, or cay¬ 
enne pepper, or ginger tea, may be given. 


196 


ACCIDENTS. 


Frozen Parts and Frost Bites. —In all cases of frost¬ 
ing, avoid subjecting the part too soon to artificial heat, as mor¬ 
tification is likely to follow. Frozen flesh is in this respect not 
unlike a frozen potato. Use snow or cold water applications, 
friction, etc., as directed foregoing. 

APPARENT DEATH FROM INTOXICATION. 

Apparent Death from Intoxication usually comes from a pro¬ 
tracted use of liquor without food. Animation and breathing 
.should be restored by similar means to those prescribed in other 
cases of suspended animation. An injection of warm beef extract 
should be given, the sooner the better. As soon as the patient 
can swallow, the first thing given should be cold water. A little 
.salt and water, vinegar and water, or lemon juice, may be given 
from a spoon if the patient seems inclined to take it. Gruel or 
beef tea well salted may be taken if agreeable to the stomach. A 
bit of the lean part of salt ham, broiled, and some strong tea 
may be relished, and if so will do good. But in most such cases 
the whole system for a time revolts against anything to be taken 
on the stomach, and it is best to let the stomach have its way, 
unless its way leads back to alcohol; but yet during recovery a 
little wine or brandy in connection with other nourishment 
should not be denied if it is called for. 

SUNSTROKE. 

Where persons are much exposed to the sun, as walking in the 
streets of cities, and working in fields in the heat of summer, 
they are exposed to Sunstroke. If there is a sense of prostration, 
fatigue and languor, the liability is greater. The brain is the 
part upon which the prostrating effect is produced, and a mat of 
green grass or cabbage leaves, or a wet handkerchief worn in the 
hat is a good precaution. 

Treatment. —Remove the patient as soon as possible to a 
cool, shady place, and place him in a recumbent position. Apply 
ice or cold water to the head, place the feet in hot mustard 
water, or apply mustard plasters or other stimulants, as Tincture 
of Capsicum, Camphor or Turpentine, to the feet. Place mus¬ 
tard plasters on the stomach and bowels ; let the patient inhale 
.strong Hartshorn or Spirits of Ammonia, and as soon as he can 


LIGHTNING STROKE—FLESH WOUNDS. 197 

swallow, administer half an ounce of Brandy or Bourbon Whisky 
with 2 or more teaspoonfuls Essence of Jamaica Ginger added, 
and repeated every hour if necessary. The patient should be- 
kept as quiet as possible. As improvement begins, let the diet 
consist of soups, broths and other light articles, carefully avoid¬ 
ing all indigestible food. Brandy may be taken moderately as a 
stimulant for a few days. Keep the bowels regular by small 
doses of Magnesia or Epsom Salts. 

LIGHTNING STROKE. 

Throw cold water on the head and down the back, repeating 
several times, and then rub the body and limbs upward with 
stimulating liniments. Restore breathing as in other cases. 
When the patient can swallow, give Whisky or Brandy diluted 
with water. 

STARYATION. 

Persons may suffer from Starvation to a point where respira¬ 
tion has apparently ceased, and yet have enough vitality to rally. 
In such cases inject small portions of milk, beef tea, or mutton 
broth, into the bowels, or brandy and raw eggs beaten together. 
When the patient can swallow, give a teaspoonful of toast water, 
rice water, or some gruel, beef tea, or other liquid food, every 15 
or 20 minutes, giving a little wine as a stimulant. The great 
point is not to feed too much. 

FLESH WOUNDS. 

To Stop Bleeding from Wounds.—Where blood flows 
from a wound, it is either regular or by jets or spurts. If it 
flows regular, a vein has been wounded, and a ligature should 
be made below the wound—that is, beyond it from the heart. 
If the flow is by jets or spurts, an artery has been severed, and 
the person may bleed to death in a few minutes. To prevent 
this, apply the ligature above the wound—that is, between the 
wound and the heart. A string or cord will do as a ligature, 
but a twisted handkerchief or cloth is better, as it will not cut 
like a string or cord. The ligature may be drawn tightly with 
the hands, and tied ; or first tie it and then put a stick inside of 
it and twist it sufficiently tight to stop the bleeding, and keep 
it so until a surgeon arrives. If the wound be where it cannot 


198 


ACCIDENTS. 


be ligated, overlay it liberally with lint and bind it tightly. It 
should be first drawn together with the adhesive plaster, if this 
is obtainable, and if not, and the wound is very serious, it were 
better to suffer the slight pain of having it drawn together by 
stitches. But never put stitches in a scalp wound, as erysipelas 
will likely be the result. 

If an artery has been severed on a limb, so that the blood 
flows by jets and spurts, press the fingers upon the inside of the 
arm or leg above the wound so as to compress the artery. When 
the artery is compressed the flow of blood will be perceptibly 
checked. This should be done at once, and the pressure con¬ 
tinued with the hand until a ligature is applied. Then by plac¬ 
ing a hard pad of folded cloth, or a bit of wood, or any hard 
substance, over the artery, and passing the ligature over it and 
drawing it tightly, the ligation will be complete if the operation 
is properly performed. 

Protrusion. —When the chest or abdomen is cut so that the 
lung or bowels protrude, first cleanse these by gently squeezing 
over them tepid water from a sponge, and then carefully place 
them back very gently with a soft cloth wet in warm water; if 
not able to replace them with such a cloth, wet with warm water 
and keep it wet until a surgeon arrives. 

Cuts. —In small Cuts with a knife or other sharp edged 
tool, it cannot be too strongly impressed that it requires 
no treatment other than simply applying an adhesive plas¬ 
ter, to hold the edges together, and bandaging with a strip of 
cloth. It will usually heal in a few days. If pus should form 
after a time, the sore may be dressed with cloths moistened in 
Carbolic Acid 15 grains to 1 ounce of water. 

It is a great mistake to apply salt, sugar, tobacco or anything 
else to a clean cut. 

Styptics. —Styptics are used to check bleeding, for which see 
“Styptics,” pages 31-32. 

GUNSHOT WOUNDS. 

Place the patient in the same position he was when receiving 
the wound. Remove any bits of clothing or other substances 
that may have been carried into the orifice. The finger is the 
best probe. Remove the ball if it can be found, without enlarg¬ 
ing or lacerating the wound; otherwise let it remain; it will do 


BURNS AND SCALDS. 


199 


no harm; it has already done all the mischief it can do. Many 
persons carry shot in their flesh without any inconvenience. 
Cleanse the wound by syringing with tepid water. Keep the 
orifice open by inserting a strip of cotton or linen cloth; this 
allows the pus to escape, and keeps the wound open at the sur¬ 
face, and allows it to heal from the bottom. Then apply a 
Slippery Elm or Flaxseed poultice to prevent inflammation and 
induce suppuration. This should be changed and a fresh poul¬ 
tice applied every two or three hours, and when changing, the 
wound should be cleansed with tepid water, to which add 30 
drops of Carbolic Acid to each 6 ounces of water, or a small 
teacupful. In the course of two or three days discontinue 
the poultice, and apply only the Carbolic Acid and Water 
Solution, by moistening cloths and laying on the wound. Change 
the dressing every four or five hours, and at each change wash 
the parts carefully with the Carbolic Acid solution. Care should 
be taken to see that the wound heals from the bottom, and as 
soon as the orifice has filled with healthy granulations, the Car¬ 
bolic Acid solution may be omitted, and the wound dressed 
by laying a cloth on it, on which a small quantity of Vaseline 
may be spread. 

SEVERE BURNS AND SCALDS. 

Under this head may be ranked the whole range of injuries by 
which the skin is blistered or broken, whether it be a patch the 
.size of a dime, or one of those more lamentable casualties in 
which a portion (and sometimes the whole body) of a person is 
immersed in a hot liquid, or where the clothing takes fire, or by 
whatever means the injury results. The injury may be said to 
be severe in any case where the skin is destroyed and the naked 
flesh exposed. 

Treatment. —There is but one principle of treatment in any 
case; and that is, protect the injured surface from the air. The 
means most readily at hand that will do this, should be first 
employed. The one means within the reach of everybody is com¬ 
mon wheat flour, which may be liberally dusted upon the sur¬ 
face, when the exudations will combine with the flour and form a 
close paste. Or molasses may be first applied, and the flour 
dusted upon it. Cotton batting may be spread loosely upon the 
part, pressed gently down, covered with muslin (or oiled silk is 


200 


ACCIDENTS. 


better), and snugly bandaged. The philosophy of the treatment 
is to provide a temporary skin until a natural skin has time to 
form. 

The following treatments have all been successful, and are 
given so that a choice may be made, according to the reme¬ 
dies at hand. 

Cold Water for Burns. —One of the best applications for 
burns is to plunge the part into cold water if it can be done 
immediately, before the air has a chance to act upon it, and keep 
it there several hours, or until the pain ceases. Then dress the 
part as in other cases. This application would of course not be 
practicable if the injury should be on some part of the body that 
cannot be immersed, and in such cases cloths may be dipped in 
cold water and laid on the burn and changed often. This simple- 
application will give relief and prevent blistering, and no better 
remedy can be applied in slight burns; but if the burn or scald 
be extensive, so as to occasion much depression of vitality, it 
may not be safe, and if it is used care should be taken not to 
expose the parts so much, or so long to cold, as to occasion any 
sensation of chilliness. 

Slight Burns. —For slight burns that do not blister, about 
the only preparation required is something that will relieve the 
burning sensation, or “ take the fire out , 99 as the saying goes. 
Burns on the hands and fingers are relieved in a few moments- 
by bathing in cold water, or by grating and applying cold raw 
potato, to which may be added a few drops of laudanum. Where 
more formal treatment is desired, apply cloths wrung cold from 
a weak solution of soda in water, or from a weak lye, or sugar 
liberally dissolved in water, or molasses and water. Wilted cab¬ 
bage leaves are good. In fact the general information of almost 
any person will suggest remedies applicable in such cases. 

False Cuticle for Burns. —Put an ounce each of Gum 
Tragacanth, Gum Acacia and Simple Syrup in a pint of boiling 
water; let stand 24 hours and steam. Apply with a brush. 
Will harden in a short time, forming a perfect temporary skin. 

Gutta-Percha Artificial Skin. —White, dry and pure 
unmanufactured Gutta-percha, dissolved in Chloroform or 
Bisulphuret of Carbon (the former preferable on account of the 
odor), dropped on a cut or abraded surface, forms a covering 


BURNS AND SCALDS—DISLOCATIONS. 201 

both air and water proof, and has no superior for the purpose 
for which it is used. 

Collodion for Burns or Wounds.— Collodion spread 
upon a wound with a brush, will form an artificial skin that 
will in many cases be a sufficient protection. 

LOTION FOR BURNS AND SCALDS. 


1$. Essential Oil Sweet Almonds. 1 ounce. 

Lime Water. 2 ounces. 


Mix, and apply to the parts with a feather or camel hair pencil, then 
cover with cotton batting. Renew the application every few hours. 

A Good Application for Burns or Scalds.— A mix¬ 
ture of 1 part of Carbolic Acid to 8 of Olive Oil. Lint or linen 
rags are to be saturated in the lotion, and spread smoothly over 
the burned part, which should then be covered with oiled silk 
or gutta-percha tissue, to exclude the air. The dressing may be 
left on from 2 to 3 days, and should then be reapplied, exposing 
the burn as short a time as possible to the air. 

Oil of Brown Paper. —Dip a piece of thick brown paper 
into the best Sweet Oil. Set the paper on fire upon a plate, and- 
the oil that drops from it is a good remedy for burns. 

Remedy for Scalded Mouth. —In cases of scalding the* 
mouth with hot liquids, gargle with a solution of Borax, and 
then hold in the mouth a mucilage of Slippery Elm, swallowing - 
it slowly, if the throat also has been scalded. The Slippery Elm 
Bark may be mixed with Olive Oil. 

Glycerine for Gunpowder Burns. —To remove the dis¬ 
coloration caused by gunpowder, smear the scorched surface 
with Glycerine, by means of a feather, then apply cotton batting 
lastly, cover with oil silk. 

Precaution in Case of Burns. —Every family should have 
a preparation of Flaxseed Oil, Chalk and Vinegar, about the 
consistency of thick paint, constantly on hand for burns and 
scalds. It has been used in hospital and family practice for 
many years, and no application is better to relieve pain. 

DISLOCATIONS. 

Dislocations of the joints are among the most painful of 
injuries, in case of the larger joints especially, involving pain in 

13 




202 


ACCIDENTS. 


reducing them, while the injury to the tendons requires a long 
time to recover. 

Treatment. —In case of dislocation, if a surgeon is not to be 
had, the coolest and most practical man in the neighborhood 
should undertake the reduction. Pulling the limb is the sim¬ 
plest form of operation, and the only one that a non-professional 
person can well employ. A sheet may be passed around the 
body and attached to some firm fastening (or any other form of 
fastening that will not cut into the flesh), while one or more 
persons, taking hold of the limb, subject it to a firm and steady 
pull. Or, the patient being on the floor or bed, the operator, 
sitting on the same level with the patient, extends his legs and 
places his feet against the patient's body, at the same time 
grasping and pulling the limb with his hands. The limb to be 
pulled should be grasped next to the dislocated joint; that is, if 
the shoulder be dislocated, the arm should be grasped and pulled 
above the elbow. 

In all cases of apparent dislocation, the operator, by pressing 
or moving the part, at the same time applying the ear, should 
endeavor to detect if it gives out any crepitus or grating sound ; 
where this is present, it is a fracture, or breaking of the bones. 
'This is not always detected at first, for the reason that the broken 
bones sometimes become “ impacted," or fixed together. The 
pulling may separate them, and hence the crepitus or grating 
sound should be sought for in connection with the pulling. 

DISLOCATION OF THE JAW. 

This is a not uncommon difficulty, suggesting the ludicrous, 
however, more than the dangerous. 

Treatment. —Seat the patient so that the back of the head 
may be brought up against the breast of the operator. Let the 
operator wind his thumbs with two or three thicknesses of cloth, 
place them as far back in the patient's mouth between the teeth 
as possible, and then with the fingers of each hand press upward 
and backward on the point of the lower jaw (or under the chin); 
the jaw acts as a lever and the thumbs as a fulcrum, and the 
dislocated joint will return to its place with a snap, the teeth 
come together firmly, and would severely wound the thumbs of 
the operator but for their being protected as directed above. In 


DISLOCATIONS—SPRAINS. 


203 


place of using the thumbs, small corks are sometimes introduced ; 
or a round bit of wood wound with cloth; and there could 
hardly be anything better than a piece cut from a rubber teeth¬ 
ing ring. If but one side of the jaw is out, the treatment will 
be similar. 

SPRAINS. 

A sprain involves straining of the strong tendons and ligaments 
■of the joint, and is among the most obstinate of injuries. 

Treatment. —A severe sprain should have rest and the best 
of care, lest chronic inflammation of the part result. To prevent 
inflammation cold ice water should be applied during the first 
few hours; after inflammation has taken place a hot fomenta¬ 
tion of hops and vinegar should be applied for a few hours ; then 
let the joint be bandaged after the manner of a surgeon’s ban¬ 
dage, and a solution composed of the following be applied : 


]}. Tincture of Arnica. 3 ounces. 

Fluid Extract Aconite. 1 ounce. 

Water.4 ounces. 


Mix, and apply by keeping the bandage wet until the pain ceases. If the 
skin is broken the solution should be made much weaker by adding more 
water, or discontinued altogether if the smarting is severe, or if it occasion 
redness of the skin. 

Sprains most frequently occur in the knee or ankle, and walk¬ 
ing should not be attempted so long as it involves a sense of 
pain or a feeling of weakness of the part. Any farther treatment 
should be under the direction of a competent physician. 

Fomentation for Sprain. —Wormwood steeped in hot 
vinegar, and bound on the injured part with several thicknesses 
of cloth, keeping moist with the liquid and renewing occasion¬ 
ally, gives relief. 

Liniment for Sprains, —Mix in a mortar a half ounce 
‘Canada Turpentine, 1 drachm Laudanum, and 6 ounces Soap 
Liniment. Apply by rubbing in before a hot fire. 

Sprained Back. —As in other sprains, give the part rest, 
keep the bowels open, and take 15 or 20 drops Balsam Copabia 
night and morning. If there is inflammation, apply cloths in 
several thicknesses, squeezed from cold water so as not to drip, 
letting them remain until they become heated, and then renew- 





204 


ACCIDENTS. 


ing them. When the inflammation is overcome apply the lini¬ 
ment for sprains, given under the head of “ Sprains,” foregoing. 

Arnica for Sprains and Bruises.— As an external appli¬ 
cation for sprains and bruises of all kinds, Arnica stands at the 
head. It may be applied by mixing the tincture with an equal 
part of water, or 1 part to 2 of water, though where the skin is 
broken it may need to be made weaker, lest it occasion smarting. 
Apply to the bandages, keeping them moist with the solu¬ 
tion. 


POISONING. 

In most cases of poisons taken upon the stomach, the proper 
treatment is to remove the poison rather than seek to counteract 
its effects by antidotes. The first step should be to treat the 
stomach immediately to some fluid or semi-fluid that will take 
up the poison. Raw eggs, swallowed from the shell, or beaten 
in water or milk (the latter the better way), fresh milk, flaxseed 
tea, warm water, etc., may be given in quantity as great as the 
stomach will receive. This should be followed immediately by 
an emetic, for which 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls of ground mustard in a 
teacup of warm water will probably be found the most convenient 
preparation, repeating very soon until there is thorough vomit¬ 
ing. The emetic should be followed by some readily acting 
cathartic, and there is nothing better in such cases than Castor 
Oil administered in large doses. In any case of Poisoning a 
physician should be immediately summoned, but the steps above 
prescribed should be taken at once, without awaiting his arrival. 

Other Treatment. —Narcotic poisons, as Opium, Laud¬ 
anum, Morphine, Colchicum, Hyosciamus, Stramonium, Bella¬ 
donna, Conium, Hellebore, etc., should be treated as above, and 
in addition dash cold water on the face and person of the patient,, 
administer strong coffee (real coffee), and rouse the patient by 
any means, as exercise, walking him rapidly between two other 
persons, etc. 

For Nitrate of Silver, drink freely of a solution of common 
salt. 

Antidotes to Poison. —If a person has swallowed a cor¬ 
rosive acid, as Sulphuric, Oxalic, Muriatic, Nitric, etc., give 
Soda or Saleratus water, Lime water, or any alkaline decoction. 


POISONING-SNAKE BITES. 


205 


If a person (or an animal) has drank strong lye, give Vin¬ 
egar. 

The principle of the two last prescriptions is, that acids and 
alkalies counteract each other. 

Only the few poisons from which persons are most liable to 
be endangered are specifically mentioned herein; but note— 

That all poisons should be treated generally according to the 
directions first given under the head of “Poisoning.” 

Poison from Ivy. —The following simple remedies may be 
used : Bathe the parts with a decoction of hemlock boughs, or of 
oak leaves; or with a tablespoonful of Copperas (Sulphate of 
Iron) in a small teacupful of boiling water; or paint over with 
fresh lime water ; or rub wet salt on the poisoned part ; or bathe 
the parts affected freely with Spirits of Nitre. If the blisters be 
broken, so that the Nitre can readily take effect, a single appli- 
oation will be sufficient. 


SNAKE BITES. 

The rattlesnake is among the most common of the venomous 
reptiles on the continent, as its bite is the most dangerous, but 
the same treatment will serve for all poisonous snake bites. 

Treatment. —Immediately on being bitten by a poisonous 
snake a cord, handkerchief or other ligature should be tightly 
tied around the limb above the wound, so as to prevent the poi¬ 
son from being carried into the general circulation ; and without 
any delay whisky should be freely given, and continued for sev¬ 
eral days, till the effect of the poison is overcome. There are 
many other internal remedies prescribed by physicians, but the 
only sure remedy is Alcohol in some form ; when this fails the 
•case is hopeless. 

The wound should be sucked for several minutes with the view 
of removing the poison. If the patient cannot do this, some one 
should do it for him. No harm can come from it, unless there 
is a raw surface in the mouth. The operator may rinse the 
mouth often with warm water to prevent any absorption of the 
poison. Immediately after this the wound should be cauterized 
with pure, full strength Carbolic Acid, applied by a thickness of 
cotton cloth wound upon a sharp pointed stick; or a knitting 
needle would be better; and if the puncture is not large enough 


206 


ACCIDENTS. 


to admit it, it should be made so by the sharp point of a knife,, 
so that the caustic may reach the bottom of the wound. If the- 
Carbolic Acid is not to be had, heat red hot a knitting needle or 
any small instrument of iron, and cauterize with it. The opera¬ 
tion may not be painless, but life may depend upon it. Imme¬ 
diately upon cauterizing apply a large hot Flaxseed poultice,, 
changing it every hour and continuing for at least twenty-four 
hours. 

Ten or fifteen grains Sulphate of Quinine should be given three 
times daily, and nutritious food should be taken to build up the 
strength. 

HYDROPHOBIA. 

This word is of Greek origin, and means “fear of water .’* 
When the term was first used, the fear of water was believed 
to be a leading symptom arising from the bite of mad dogs, and 
it has become so identified with the disease that the name is* 
still retained. The disease itself is technically known as Rabies, 
and is the result of a poison virus left in the wound by the bite 
of a rabid animal. The only safety lies in removing the poison 
before it has been taken up by the circulation. When the poison 
has lam dormant in the system for a certain length of time and 
the person bitten is prostrated with the disease, no known rem¬ 
edy will effect a removal of the virus from the blood, and death, 
is almost certain to follow ; hence everyone will understand the 
importance of prompt and energetic measures being taken imme¬ 
diately after a person has been bitten, as by this only can a cure 
be made. Nearly every case can be saved by prompt preventive* 
treatment. 

Treatment. —As soon as a person has been bitten by a rabid 
dog, the wound should be sucked out for a few minutes and Car¬ 
bolic Acid used to cauterize the part, and a hot Flaxseed poul¬ 
tice applied, following the same directions for their use as are* 
given in “ Snake Bites.” This treatment will in most cases 
destroy the poison, after which the wound should be treated for 
some time as an open sore. For this purpose apply a hot Flax¬ 
seed poultice once a day (or during the evening), letting it 
remain on for an hour each time, then apply a wash made of 
Carbolic Acid 1 part, and water 10 parts. This should be con- 


BITES AND STINGS OF INSECTS. 207 

tinuecl daily for two or three weeks. The daily use of the Spirit 
Vapor Bath will also be of service. 

For internal treatment give : 


1$. Aqua Ammonia.2 drachms. 

Tincture Scutellaria. 1 ounce. 

Syrup Ginger. 2 ounces. 


Mix, and give a teaspoonful every 2 hours for the first 3 or 4 days, and 
afterward a teaspoonful 3 times a day for several weeks. 

BITES AND STINGS OF INSECTS. 

Tincture of Arnica, strong Water of Ammonia (Hartshorn), 
Saleratus Water, Sulphur in Whisky, Olive Oil, Gunpowder 
and Salt mixed with Vinegar, etc., may he applied to the sur¬ 
face to relieve the bites or stings of fleas, bees, mosquitoes, wasps, 
spiders, etc. A mud paste made of clay mixed with water is 
effective to relieve stings. The best remedy is strong Hartshorn, 
applied directly to the wound. Stings are many times very pain¬ 
ful, especially of hornets and bees, leading to severe inflamma¬ 
tion. These sometimes leave their “stingers” in the wound, 
and it acts as a poisonous arrow. It may be removed with a pair 
of tweezers. 


SPIDER BITES. 

The expressed juice of Plaintain leaves is an effectual antidote 
to the bite of venomous spiders, tarantulas, etc. Apply to the 
wound and take internally, or chew the leaves. Cauterizing the 
wound with strong Carbolic Acid, and applying Hartshorn, is 
effective treatment. 

SUBSTANCES IN THE THROAT, ETC. 

Choking. —A number of remedies may be employed, as fol¬ 
lows : 

1. If a person chokes while eating, the substance may be 
drawn from the throat with the fingers, or perhaps with forceps, 
pressing the tongue down with a spoon handle so as to reach it. 

2. Holding the person up by the heels while another person 
strikes the back smartly between the shoulders with the open 
hand, may relieve the choking. Or holding by the legs and 
feet, requiring the person, if able, to walk on the hands 
“ barrow fashion,” may do it. 





208 


ACCIDENTS. 


3. Children frequently choke while eating, when simply strik¬ 
ing them on the back, and agitating the chest and thorax, will 
bring relief. If the choking is simply from some article of food 
which cannot be removed, it may be forced down into the 
stomach. 

4. Any hard substances, as buttons, etc., that may pass the 
throat, will usually pass the stomach and intestines without 
occasioning trouble. 

5. Where pins or needles have been swallowed, unless they 
can be reached so that they can be pulled out, there is nothing 
that can be done but let them have their course. They usually 
become encysted and harmless, and sometimes work their way 
to the surface and are removed years after they are known to 
have entered the body. 

G. A bit of hard bread or crust partially chewed and swal¬ 
lowed, will usually carry with it fish bones lodged in the throat. 
It this does not succeed, induce vomiting by giving a teaspoon¬ 
ful of salt and 2 teaspoonfuls of ground mustard in a teacup of 
warm water, aiding if necessary by passing the finger into the 
throat. 

7. For choking in general, get upon all fours, and cough. 

Substances in the Windpipe. — Foreign substances drawn 
into the windpipe are more troublesome than when lodged in the 
throat. They are sometimes expelled where the person is made 
to sneeze or laugh violently. Hanging by the heels, etc., as in 
case of substances in the throat, may bring relief. If the sub¬ 
stance is not expelled, but remains in the windpipe, it may be 
removed by a surgical operation. Or if it goes to the lungs it 
may occasion no serious difficulty, or it may lead to ulceration. 

Substances in the Nose. —To remove substances from 
the nose, blow vigorously through the nostril, first closing the 
mouth and the other nostril by pressure. If not successful, the 
substance may be reached by a small curved wire or knitting 
needle passed above it and used as a hook to draw it out, first 
pressing the finger against the nose above the substance to pre¬ 
vent it from being pushed farther back. 

Substances in the Ear. —Where insects get in the ear, 
fill the ear with Sweet Oil and then syringe it out with warm 


FITS. 


209 


water. If some solid substance, as a pea, bean, shot, or pin, gets 
in the ear, the person should lie on his side with the ear down¬ 
ward, and a surgeon should be called. 

FITS. 

When a person falls in a fit, if the face is pale , lay the patient 
on his back and rub the palms and wrists energetically, raising 
the arms pretty well in doing so. The legs may also be bent, 
with the knees upward, at the same time beating the outer sides 
■of the legs with the open hands, with smart, quick strokes, to 
■excite the circulation. If the face he red or dark colored, treat¬ 
ment similar to that prescribed under “Apoplexy,” page 137, 
should be followed. In all cases of sudden suspension of ani¬ 
mation or consciousness, one of the first precautions should be 
to loosen the dressing of the neck, throat, and chest, and afford 
plenty of air. Hartshorn may be applied to the nostrils to 
arouse animation, and the following preparation administered: 


1$. Compound Spirits Lavender.4 drachms. 

Fluid Extract Valerian. 4 drachms. 

Aqua Ammonia.2 drachms. 

Chloroform.4 drachms. 


Mix. Dose. —For an adult, 1 teaspoonful in a tablespoonful of water, 
repeating every 10 minutes, or until the patient is relieved. 

FAINTING AND HYSTERIA. 

Loosen the garments, bathe the temples with water, Cologne 
or Camphor, give plenty of fresh air, dash cold water in the face, 
apply hot bricks to the feet and Camphor or Hartshorn to the 
nostrils, and administer the following prescription internally: 


Compound Spirits Lavender.3 ounces. 

Aqua Ammonia.3 drachms. 


Mix. Dose.— One teaspoonful in 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls of sweetened 
water, repeating every 5 minutes. 

Avoid bustle or excessive sympathy, and anything that would 
tend to excite the imagination or emotions. 

GIDDINESS. 

Giddiness or Vertigo arises from a tendency of blood to the 
Iiead. Cold water applications will usually relieve it; the Com- 








210 


ACCIDENTS. 


pound Syrup of Jalap should be taken to produce a free move¬ 
ment of the bowels. Vertigo is nearly allied to apoplexy, and 
persons subject to it should be careful of their diet and habits. 
Avoid indigestible food, strong coffee, late suppers, alcoholic; 
stimulants, and take exercise freely. Vertigo is also frequently 
a consequence of nervous derangements, as dyspepsia, hysteria, 
etc., and sometimes results from a too close mental application. 
In such cases the symptoms will disappear with proper treatment 
to remove the causes. 


STUNNING. 

Where a person is stunned to insensibility by any sudden 
shock or concussion, use similar means of restoration as in case 
of stroke by lightning, with energetic rubbing with the hands at- 
the base of the brain, up and down the spine, and of the limbs,, 
with internal stimulants where the patient is able to swallow. 
If the person remains insensible there should be no delay in 
calling a physician, as the case may prove serious. 

EXTRACTING SPLINTERS. 

Small splinters that sometimes get into the hands and fingers- 
and break off, may usually be picked out with a needle. If not 
readily removable, soak the part in warm water for a few min¬ 
utes, or apply cloth wet from hot water, which will soften the 
flesh and skin so that the troublesome splinter may be more easily 
dislodged. If still not successful, an incision with a knife will 
of course reach it, but will leave a sore ; or, await the slower 
process of ulceration. This, if at all serious, should be treated, 
the same as any abscess, with poulticing, etc. 

SCRATCHES. 

A simple scratch on the hand frequently inflames, and occasions 
much inconvenience. Sucking the scratch with the lips for a 
few moments and pressing and rubbing it with the tongue, is 
good treatment, as is also washing with cold water. When the‘ 
smarting sensation has been overcome, close the wound by pres¬ 
sure and cover with the False Cuticle. 

TO FLOAT IN WATER. 

Everybody should learn to swim. But everybody does not. 


RUPTURE—CAUTIONS AGAINST ACCIDENTS. 211 

learn, and if suddenly thrown into the water, hold the breath at 
first, close the mouth, keep the head up, keep the body and 
lower limbs down, keep the hands in motion, pressing down¬ 
ward with the open palms like a paddle, but turning them edge¬ 
ways when raising them. Watch how a goose uses her web feet 
when she swims, and use your hands in the same way. A motion 
may also be given to the feet, as if walking up stairs. In this 
way a person who cannot swim can “ tread water,” and keep the 
head above the surface. 


RUPTURE. 

Rupture is generally caused by a strain, or an accident, and 
should be attended to by a surgeon as soon as possible. Mean¬ 
while the patient must be laid upon a sofa or bed with the hips 
and legs slightly raised, so as to give him ease and to place the- 
rupture in the most favorable position for being reduced. If the 
patient is faint, support him by giving wine and water, or Aro¬ 
matic Spirits of Ammonia, or a little broth, but do not over¬ 
stimulate him. In other respects he must be kept perfectly 
quiet. 

CAUTIONS AGAINST ACCIDENTS. 

Stand not near a tree, or any leaden spout, iron gate, or pali¬ 
sade, in time of lightning. 

Keep the muzzle of a gun always pointed upward. 

Never take a loaded gun into a house, hotel, railway car, or 
other place where people congregate. 

Never draw a gun towards you by the muzzle. 

Nor imitate firing a gun or pistol in jest. 

Death is in the fumes of burning charcoal; hence, never lie 
down near it, and if drowsy when working over it, inhale fresh 
air. 

Do not yield to the temptation to sleep when benumbed with 
cold; if frost-bitten, rub the part with snow and do not hastily 
approach the fire. 

Before descending into a well, cave, or other damp or confined 
place, lower a lighted candle; if the candle goes out, your life- 
will go out in the same atmosphere. 

Never leave a horse without hitching; nor walk behind a led 
horse, lest he kick; nor a mule, either. 


ACCIDENTS. 


212 

In cities, cross the street only on the regular crossings. 

If you keep poisons in the house, keep them under lock and 
key in a drawer or box, labeled “ Poison,” and mark every bottle 
or package containing poison the same way. 

In walking the streets keep out of the line of the basements, 
and never look one way and walk another. 

Never throw orange peel, apple or banana skins on the walk, 
or broken glass into the street. 

Never handle gunpowder by candle light. 

Never fill a coal oil lamp full, as it needs some vacant space to 
accommodate the expansion that the heat occasions. 

And never undertake to fill a fluid lamp while it is burning, 
•or just after it has been extinguished, lest an explosion occur. 

Never try to light a fire with Petroleum, Naptha or Benzine ; 
the man who lit his fire with Benzine hasn’t “ been seen ” since. 

Never quit a room leaving the poker in the fire. 

Leave no loose rugs at the head of the stairs; and fasten 
stair rods immediately if they become loose. 

Lucifer matches may set your house on fire and poison the 
children; hence keep them in their cases and never allow them 
to be strewed about. 

If your horse runs away it is generally best to keep your place 
in the carriage and hold fast, unless you can spring out of the 
Lind end and hold on long enough to keep your balance. 

If a child seizes a knife, razor, or other dangerous instrument, 
.coolly and gently bend the child’s wrist inward, which will relax 
the fingers so that the instrument may be removed. 

Do not visit the sick early in the morning before the room 
has been aired, when your stomach is empty, when you are 
fatigued, or in a perspiration, if the disease is at all contagious; 
and after leaving, take some food, and change your clothing and 
expose it to the air for some days. Cotton saturated with Cam¬ 
phor and bound under the nose has a preventive effect in con¬ 
tagious diseases. 


CAUTIONS AS TO FIRE. 

In case of fire, keep cool; avoid hurry and confusion. 

If in a city, send off to the nearest engine, police, or telephone 
.station. 


CAUTIONS AS TO FIRE. 


218 

It would be well for every family to keep one or more fire 
buckets and a mop with a long handle; dip the mop in water 
and treat the fire with it. 

Throw a wet blanket over a fire ; and place wet blankets on a 
roof to prevent it from taking fire from other buildings when 
burning. 

If the bed or window curtains take fire, pull them down and 
throw a blanket over them. 

Close the windows and doors of a house when on fire, so as not 
to give the fire air to feed upon. 

A ladder should be kept at every house so that escape may be 
had by the windows or from the roof if the stairway is on fire. 

The last person to retire at night should visit every part of 
the house to see that all is safe, and keepers of public houses 
should see that this is done either by themselves or a trusty 
servant. 

Children should be early taught how to press out a spark that 
may have lodged in their clothing or in the bedding or tapestry. 
Coolly instruct a child how to do such things instead of rushing 
frantically about yourself, and the child will from habit and imi¬ 
tation always act coolly in such emergencies. 

In escaping from a fire, creep along with your head as low as 
possible, to escape the smoke and vapor. 

Never read in bed at night. There are many objections to the 
practice, besides the liability to fire. 

A guard or screen should always be placed before a grate or 
fireplace where there are children who have access to the room. 

Never try to extinguish burning oil with water, or to blow out 
the flame; smother the fire by some means. 

If a fire occur at night where you are lodging, involving haste 
in escaping, put on your shoes and envelop yourself in a blanket,, 
drawing it closely round the head and face. By drawing in a 
long breath one may thus pass through considerable smoke and 
flame without injury. A wet silk handkerchief passed over the 
face is an added protection. 

Burning Clothing. —First of all, presence of mincl. Snatch 
a quilt or blanket, wrap yourself in it, and throw yourself on the 
floor, and thus smother the fire. If you run, it will fan the 
flame, and as the flame ascends you will inhale it, which is- 
almost certain to be fatal. 


214 


ACCIDENTS. 


To Prevent Clothes from Burning.— Dissolve an ounce 
or two of Alum and add to the water from which clothes, cur¬ 
tains or hangings are last rinsed. The Tungstate of Soda, sim¬ 
ilarly used, is said also to render light cloths incombustible, or 
to reduce their inflammability. 

Fire in Chimney. —Close the doors and windows ; throw 
.Salt or Sulphur into the stove, grate or fireplace; and if an 
open grate or fireplace, it should be closed up, to prevent the 
escape of the sulphur fumes, which are deadly to persons. A 
blanket or quilt thoroughly wet, tacked up so as to cover the 
fireplace, would be a ready means of closing it. It would prob¬ 
ably spoil the article for any other use, but this might be econ¬ 
omy, nevertheless. 

ACCIDENTS OF THE WATER. 

However meritorious may be the action, no person is justified 
in plunging into the water to save another person from drown¬ 
ing, unless he can swim; and even then he should defer his 
efforts till partial insensibility occurs, for unless the swimmer 
gets behind the person, and keeps himself clear of the convulsive 
clutch with which a drowning man grasps his preserver, the 
chances are that both may sink together. 

In bathing, unless a good swimmer, the person should never 
go out of his depth; he should at all times avoid bathing in 
holes, and if in lakes or rivers, whenever he finds the water par¬ 
ticularly cold as it is near the springs, he should at once place 
himself beyond their reach, and on the first sensation of cramp, 
make for the shore. 

In sailing in a small boat, whether propelled by sails or oars, the 
centre of gravity is always to be kept low; the person should never 
rise from his seat unless to land ; more fatal accidents occur on 
the water from the neglect of this rule, than from any kind of 
casualty. When two or three persons suddenly rise up in a boat, 
it is almost certain to be overset, and every one in it flung into the 
water. With regard to skating, no ice should be ventured on 
till after three days’ frost, and not then if the edge appear rot¬ 
ten, or can be pierced with a walking-stick; the person who 
would attempt to skate after a fall of rain, or when water lies on 
the ice, does so in open violation of the commonest rules of pru¬ 
dence. 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


215 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 

In Division I of Part I of this work, a chapter is given under 
the head of “Medical Preparations.” That chapter is designed 
more especially as a brief Materia Medica adapted to domestic 
use, and the remedies indicated are mostly such as are recognized 
as officinal, and found in the Pharmacopias. The prescriptions 
given herein under the head of “ Medical Recipes,” are more in 
the line of popular remedies that have been found valuable in 
practice. 

PILLS. 

Anodyne Pills. —To relieve pain, remove spasm, allay 
nervous irritability, and induce sleep. 


1$. Extract Cannabis Indica. 10 grains. 

Extract Hyosciamus.,.30 grains. 

Camphor.24 grains. 


Mix, and make 20 pills. Dose. —One or 2 pills on retiring. 

Pill for Constipation. —Efficacious in removing long 
standing cases of Constipation and a torpid condition of the 


bowels. 

Podophyllin. 10 grains. 

Extract Nux Vomica. 5 grains. 

Extract Belladonna. 8 grains. 


Mix, and make 60 pills. Dose.—O ne pill 3 times daily. 

Jaundice Pill. —Valuable in Jaundice, liver and malarial 


diseases. 

]$. Extract of Taraxacum. 1 drachm. 

Resin Podophylli. 1 drachm. 

Extract of Conium. 1 drachm. 


Mix, and make into 3-grain pills. Dose.— Two or 3, repeated twice daily. 
A Powerful Cathartic Pill. —A powerful hydragogue 
•cathartic, efficacious in dropsy, constipation, cerebral conges¬ 


tion, etc. 

B. Resin of Jalap. 1 scruple. 

Scammony. 1 scruple. 

Gamboge. 1 scruple. 

Capsicum. 10 grains. 


Mix, and make into 25 pills. Dose. —One pill every 2 hours, until a free 
•evacuation of the bowels is produced. 















216 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


Liver Pill. —A valuable cholagogue, and beneficial in dis¬ 
eases of the liver, and as a general family cathartic pill, is 


made as follows: 

Leptandrin. .30 grains. 

Podophyllin. 15 grains. 

Capsicum. 10 grains. 


Solid Extract Rhubarb, a sufficient quantity. 

Mix, and divide into 30 pills. Dose. —One or 2, once or twice a day. 


Compound Cathartic Pills.— An alterative and cathar¬ 
tic, very useful in dyspepsia and diseases of the liver; recom¬ 
mended as a good family pill. 

1$. Podophyllin. 1 drachm. 

Scammony. 1 drachm. 

Gamboge. 1 drachm. 

Capsicum... 1 drachm. 

Castile Soap.30 grains. 

Mix, and divide into 125 pills. Dose.—O ne or 2 pills each night. 

Tonic Pills. —For debility arising from any cause, but espe¬ 
cially after a run of fever and ague, bilious or other fevers, the 
following pill will be found one of the best remedies : 


]$. Sulphate Quinine.. 30 grains. 

Carbonate of Iron (Vallet’s Mass). 1 drachm. 

Strichnia. . £ grain. 


Mix, and divide into 30 pills. Dose. —One pill each night, at bed time. 


Fever and Ague Pills. —Mix and form into 20 pills : 


]$. Sulphate Quinine.40 grains. 

Dover’s Powder.10 grains. 

Capsicum . 8 grains. 

Carbonate of Iron. 10 grains. 


Dose. —Two pills each hour, commencing 5 hours before the chill. After 
this 1 pill night and morning. 

Compound Mandrake Pills. —Podophyllin is prepared 
from the Mandrake Root, and is the active medicinal principle 
of the root. The crude root is equally efficacious, though requir¬ 
ing, for the same results, eight to ten times its weight. The 
Compound Mandrake Pill is composed as follows : 


1$. Podophyllin. 12 grains. 

Leptandrin. 25 grains. 

Extract of Hyosciamus. 25 grains. 


Extract of Valerian, a sufficient quantity. 

Mix, and divide into 25 pills. They may be coated with sugar or gelatin 
if convenient to a druggist who does that work. This pill is thorough in 




















PILLS. 


21 ? 


its action, leaving the bowels in good condition, and is specially designed to 
act on the liver, being preferable for that object to any preparation of Mer¬ 
cury. Dose. —One to 8 pills, at night. 

Compound Mandrake and Mercury. —For those who 
prefer a pill having a preparation of Mercury : 


1$. Podophyllin. 12 grains. 

Blue Mass. 48 grains. 


Mix, and divide into 24 pills. Dose. —From 1 to 4, according to the con¬ 
dition of the system. The larger dose would act as a cathartic, and one 
taken at night for several nights would be more properly an alterative. 

Brandreth’s Pills. —The following is supposed to be the 
formula for the well known Brandreth’s Pills : 


3$. Colocynth. 15 grains. 

Aloes. 2 ounces. 

Gamboge. 1 ounce. 

Castile Soap. 4 drachms. 

Oil Peppermint. 8 drops. 

Oil Cinnamon. 4 drops. 

Mix, and make into 4-grain pills. 


Wright’s Indian Vegetable Pills. —Socotrine Aloes 1 
pound, Powdered Gamboge 6 ounces, Compound Extract of: 
Colocynth, Castile Soap, and Scammony, of each 3 ounces, 
Extract of Butternut 2 ounces, Cayenne Pepper ounce, Oil of 
Cloves 1 drachm : mix, and make into 4-grain pills. Dose.— 
Two to 3. 

Dr. Thomas’ Colocynth and Mandrake Pills.— Take \ 
drachm Compound Extract of Colocynth, and 3 grains Resin 
Podophylli: mix, and make into 12 pills. Dose.— Two at 
bed-time. 

Lee’s Antibilious Pills. —Take Pulverized Jalap, Aloes, 
and Rhubarb, each \ ounce. Calomel 3 drachms, Pulverized 
Gamboge 1 drachm ; form the whole into a mass with shavings 
of Castile soap and syrup; then make into 3-grain pills. Dose.— 
From 2 to 3. 

Gout and Rheumatic Pills. —Mix together 106 grains 
Sulphate of Quinine, 15 grains Extract of Digitalis (Fox¬ 
glove), and 38 grains of Colchicum Seeds; make into 50 pills* 
Dose. —From 1 to 3 daily for several days in succession. 

14 










218 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


CATHARTICS. 

Mild and Pleasant Cathartic.— Mix well in a 4-ounce 


vial : 

Fluid Extract Senna. 3 ounces. 

Essence of Wintergreen.4 drachms. 


Dose. —A teaspoonful repeated every 6 hours until it moves the bowels. 

Heady Cathartics. —There are many exigencies requiring 
the ready action of a cathartic in which a compound preparation 
cannot well be obtained. For this purpose Castor Oil is a con¬ 
venient medicine, and will usually be found in some family in 
almost every neighborhood. Dose.— For a child of one year, a 
teaspoonful, graduating according to age for older persons, the 
dose for an adult being 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls. The oil is more 
easily taken by pouring it upon a little milk. Epsom Salts is 
also readily procurable, but should be supplemented for a day or 
two by some mild laxative, as the effect of salts is to leave the 
bowels torpid or constipated. For this purpose a bit of the root 
of Turkey Rhubarb about the size of a pea may be masticated 
and swallowed say an hour or so before meals, and this is some¬ 
times a desirable laxative where there is a hot, torpid state of 
the bowels from any cause. 

Castor Oil—Aromatic. —Many people cannot take Castor 
'Oil because of its offensive taste. To overcome this, take : 


1$. Castor Oil. 4 ounces. 

Oil of Peppermint.85 drops. 

Oil of Wintergreen. 1 drachm. 


Mix, and use in the same doses as usual. This so completely disguises 
the Castor Oil taste that a person will not know, unless told, that he is 
taking Castor Oil. 

Butternut Extract. —The Mandrake preparations are usu¬ 
ally preferable, but where not conveniently obtainable, a prepa¬ 
ration quite effective and pleasant to take may be made as follows : 
Take of the inner bark of the Butternut a convenient quantity, 
put in a tin vessel, and cover with boiling water ; steep over the 
stove or fire for a day or two, adding water as it evaporates; 
then strain through a strong towel, using considerable pressure, 
or use other means to express the liquor, as fully as may be; put 







CATHARTICS. 


219 


the liquid into a vessel with one-half the quantity of molasses, 
and evaporate to about the consistency of dough or soft putty, 
the dose being a lump about as large as a common red cherry. 

A Good Remedy for Constipation.— Take of the best 
Senna leaves reduced to a fine powder 4 ounces, Pulp of Prunes 
1 pound, Pulp of Cassia \ pound, Pulp of Tamarinds 3 ounces. 
Simple Syrup 1-J- pints, Essential Oil of Caraway 2 drachms. 
Boil the pulps with the syrup to the consistence of honey, add 
the Senna, and when the mixture is nearly cold, add the Oil of 
Caraway, and, lastly, mix the compound thoroughly. This prep¬ 
aration is a mild aperient, suited to constipation from whatever 
cause. It is admirably suited to children and delicate persons. 
United with an equal quantity of Sulphur, it is an admirable 
remedy for piles. Dose. —From 1 to 3 teaspoonfuls at bed¬ 
time. 

Mild Laxative Syrup. —Cream of Tartar 1 ounce, Milk 
of Sulphur 1 ounce, Sub-carbonate of Soda 2^ drachms, Syrup of 
Ginger a sufficient quantity to give the required consistence. 
The dose is 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls at bed-time. This will be found 
a mild and excellent laxative, and often is of great use in uterine 
obstructions. 

Seidlitz Powders. —Compounded as follows : 


Rochelle Salts. 2 drachms. 

Bicarbonate of Soda.2 scruples. 

Water. \ pint. 


Mix. To this add 35 grains of Tartaric Acid and take the whole foam¬ 
ing. 

Cathartic Syrup. —A valuable Cathartic, acting upon the 
liver and every portion of the intestinal canal; equalled by few 
and surpassed by none, as a general family Cathartic medicine: 


B. Fluid Extract Mandrake. 4 drachms. 

Fluid Extract Senna. 5 drachms. 

Fluid Extract Jalap. 4 drachms. 

Fluid Extract Ginger. 1 ounce. 

Simple Syrup. 5 ounces. 


Mix. Dose.—O ne teaspoonful once or twice a day until a free move¬ 
ment of the bowels takes place. 










220 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


BITTERS. 

Orange Wine of Quinine. —An excellent tonic for weak 
and debilitated females : 


JE$. Sulphate Quinine. 1 scruple. 

Citric Acid. 15 grains. 

Orange Wine. 24 ounces. 


Mix. Dose.— Half a wine glass 2 or 3 times a day. 

Compound Gentian Bitters. —Take 2 ounces Gentian 
Hoot (ground), 1 ounce Red Cinchona Bark (ground), 1 ounce of 
Orange-peel (bruised), a handful of Camomile Flowers, and 2 
drachms Cardamon Seed ; mix the whole together, put them in 
a bottle containing 1 pint of brandy, set in a warm place, shake 
frequently, and in 6 or 7 days filter through brown paper; take 
2 to 4 tablespoonfuls 3 times a day; may dilute with water. 

Fever and Ague Tonic. —The following, in doses of a 
teaspoonful 3 or 4 times a day, will be found an excellent tonict 


f$. Fowler’s Solution Arsenicum. 2 drachms. 

Glycerine. 2 ounces. 

Water. 2 ounces. 

Oil Rose Geranium. 3 drops. 

Spirits of Wine. 1 ounce. 


Mix the Oil Geranium and spirits of wine, then add.the other ingredients. 

Quinine Mixture for Children. —For small children 
nothing is better than 5 or 6 grains Quinine, first dissolved by the 
addition of 1 or 2 drops of Sulphuric Acid to each grain of Qui¬ 
nine, then place in a 2-ounce vial, add 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls of 
white sugar, and fill the vial with water. Dose.— One teaspoon¬ 
ful 3 times daily. 

OINTMENTS AND SALYES. 

Healing Ointment.— One of the best healing ointments 
for sores of all kinds is made as follows : 


Sweet Oil. 1 ounce. 

Yellow Wax. 1 ounce. 

Paraphine. 2 ounces. 

Carbolic Acid. 1 ounce. 

Sulphate Atropia. 8 grains. 


Mix, and make into an ointment by gentle heat. 















OINTMENTS. 


221 


Cream Ointment. —An ointment highly recommended in 
Salt Rheum, Scalds, Burns, and bites of insects, is made as fol¬ 
lows : Take a teacupful of sweet cream, and carefully tie it up 
in a piece of thick linen cloth or canvas; bury it about a foot 
deep in the ground, and let it remain there 36 hours, when it 
will be found as hard as butter. Apply as an ointment. 

Psoric Ointment. —An excellent ointment for Scald Head, 
Itch, Barbers* Itch, Bakers* Itch, Prairie Itch, and similar 
diseases, is made by taking— 


Ground Poke Root. 1 teaspoonful. 

Vaseline. 1 teaspoonful. 

Carbolic Acid.30 drops. 


Mix well together. Use as directed for other ointments, for above 
named diseases. 

There is a cluster of skin diseases that are simply the result of 
the presence in the skin of an irritating microscopic insect. The 
value of Carbolic Acid as an ingredient in ointments and salves 
is, that it destroys these insects and their germs, thus removing 
the cause of the trouble and effecting a cure. 

Mustard Oil Ointment. —Crude Mustard Seed Oil 16 
fluid ounces, Ethereal Oil of Mustard 30 drops; Water of 
Ammonia 4 fluid ounces, or a sufficient quantity to form into a 
soap. Mix and bottle in broad T mouthed vials containing about 
2 ounces. 

Carbolic Salve. —There are different formulae recommended 
for this salve, containing different amounts of Carbolic Acid; 
the character of the disease will determine which to use. The 
Carbolic Acid employed is the crystalized article, sold in bottles, 
and taken out by warming the latter in hot water, or the fluid 
resulting from the crystals, which are melted in warm weather, 
or are dissolved by absorbing a little water, when the bottles are 
not perfectly stoppered. 

1. Take Carbolic Acid 30 drops, and Vaseline 1 ounce. Trit¬ 
urate together in a porcelain mortar. 

2. Take Carbolic Acid 1 fluid drachm, and Lard 3 ounces. 
Melt the lard at a gentle heat, add the Carbolic Acid, and tritu¬ 
rate until the mixture is cold. 

Carbolic Compound Ointment. —Melt together 5 
ounces Lard, and 2-J ounces White Wax; add \ ounce Balsam 
of Fir, and when it begins to cool, stir in ounce Carbolic Acid. 





222 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


The addition of Balsam Fir to this preparation corrects the dis¬ 
agreeable odor of the Acid, and renders it slightly adhesive, 
which is quite desirable when used as a dressing for burns, old 
sores, etc. 

Iodine Ointment. —Take of Camphor 1 drachm, Iodine £ 
drachm, Alcohol 10 drops (to powder the Camphor), Vaseline 
1 ounce. Mix. 

Trask’s Magnetic Ointment. —Lard, Raisins, and fine-cut 
Tobacco, equal weights ; simmer well together, then strain, and 
press out all from the dregs. 

Anodyne Ointment. —Mix 3 drachms Extract of Bella¬ 
donna, £ drachm Powdered Opium, and 3 drachms Vaseline. 
For Neuralgia, etc., apply with friction for 6 to 8 minutes. 

Ointment for Tropical Climates. —An astringent oint¬ 
ment may be prepared, which is not likely to become soon ran¬ 
cid, as is the case with ointments made with fat. Melt 4 ounces 
Resin in £ pint Olive Oil; add 1 ounce Alum and 3 ounces 
Catechu, both finely powdered. 

Family Salve. —Take the roots of Yellow Dock and Dan¬ 
delion, equal parts; add good proportion of Celandine and 
Plantain. Extract the juices by steeping or pressing. Strain 
carefully, and simmer the liquid with sweet cream, or fresh but¬ 
ter and mutton tallow, or Sweet Oil and mutton tallow. Sim¬ 
mer together until no appearance of the liquid remains. Before 
it is quite cold, put it into boxes. This is one of the most sooth¬ 
ing and healing preparations for burns, scalds, cuts, and sores 
of every description. 

Green Mountain Salve. —For rheumatism, burns, pains in 
the back or side, etc. Take 2 pounds Rosin, Burgundy Pitch £ 
pound, Beeswax £ pound, Mutton Tallow £ pound; melt slowly : 
when not too warm, add Oil Hemlock 1 ounce. Balsam Fir 1 
ounce, Oil of Origanum 1 ounce. Oil of Red Cedar 1 ounce, 
Venice Turpentine 1 ounce, Oil of Wormwood 1 ounce, Verde- 
gris £ ounce. The Verdegris must be finely pulverized and 
mixed with the oils; then add as above, and work in cold water 
like wax till cold enough to roll. 

German Black Salve. —Lard 24 parts, White Oxide of 
Zinc and Peruvian Balsam of each 3 parts, Nitrate of Silver, 


LINIMENTS. 223 

finely pulverized, 1 part. This formula is taken from the Ham¬ 
burg Pharmacopoeia. 

Ointment for Chapped Hands. —Mix £ ounce of Glyce¬ 
rine and 2 scruples of Borax in ^ pint of boiling water. Use 
morning and evening. 

Ointment for Frost Sores. —Take 6 ounces each of Lard 
and Tallow and 1 ounce of Bed Oxide of Iron; put them in an 
iron vessel, melt them together, and stir with an iron spoon till 
the mixture is black. Then take an ounce of Venice Turpen¬ 
tine, -J ounce of Bole Armenia, and -J ounce of Olive Oil, rub 
them into a paste, and add to and incorporate with the first mix¬ 
ture. Apply daily on linen. 

Pettit’s Eye Salve. —Bub together in a mortar White 
Precipitate 24 grains, Oxide of Zinc 1 drachm, Benzoic Acid 
4 grains. Sulphate Morphia 1 grain. Oil of Bosemary 1 drop; 
then add gradually a warm compound made by melting together 
Sweet Oil 1 ounce, Spermaceti 1 drachm, White Wax 1 drachm, 
stirring till cold. 

LINIMENTS. 

An Excellent Liniment. —The following liniment is good 
for all sprains, bruises, rheumatic pains, etc. May be used for 


man and beast: 

1$. Aqua Ammonia.2 ounces. 

Oil of Turpentine.2 ounces. 

Oil Cajeput. 4 drachms. 

Oil Origanum.2 drachms. 


Mix well together and bottle for use. 

A Valuable Liniment.— Mix together 2 ounces Oil of 
Spike, 2 ounces Origanum, 2 ounces Hemlock, 2 ounces Worm¬ 
wood, 4 ounces Sweet Oil, 2 ounces Spirits of Ammonia, 2 ounces 
Gum Camphor, 2 ounces Spirits Turpentine. Add 1 quart 95 
per cent. Alcohol, mix well together, and bottle tight. This is 
an unequalled horse liniment, and, by omitting the Turpentine, 
it constitutes one of the best liniments ever made for human 
ailments, such as rheumatism, sprains, etc. 

Soap Liniment. —Dissolve 4 ounces of Castile soap in a 
mixture of 4 ounces of water and 1 quart of Alcohol. Then add 
2 ounces of Gum Camphor and -J ounce of Oil of Bosemary. 






224 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


Another. —Mix 2 ounces of Sweet Oil, 1 ounce of Ammonia, 
\ ounce of Spirits of Turpentine, f ounce of Spirits of Cam¬ 
phor. This makes a white, creamy-like soap, soft enough to be 
shaken out of the bottle into the hand, and yet hard enough 
not to run, so you can carry it to the place desired and rub it in 
freely. Cover with flannel until a little irritation as from mus¬ 
tard plaster takes place. This is excellent for rheumatism, or 
any swelling or tumor. 

Liniment for Worms. —Mix 1 ounce of Castor Oil, \ 
ounce each of Essential Oils of Wormwood and Tansy, 20 drops 
Oil of Pennyroyal. This is an excellent medicine, employed in 
friction on the abdomen in cases of worms in children. It is 
improved by the addition of a little Garlic juice. 

Chloroform Liniments. —The following are valuable appli¬ 
cations to relieve pains: 

1. Mix 1 part of Chloroform, and 1 part of Camphor. 

2. One fluid drachm of Chloroform, 7 fluid drachms of Almond 
Oil; mix and shake till the two are united. 

3. One fluid drachm of Chloroform, 2 fluid ounces of Soap 
Liniment. Used as an application in neuralgic pains and rheu¬ 
matism. 

German Rheumatic Liniment.— Oils of Hemlock and 
Cedar, of each -J- ounce. Oils of Origanum and Sassafras each 1 
ounce, Aqua Ammonia 1 ounce, Capsicum, pulverized, 1 ounce, 
Spirits of Turpentine and Gum Camphor each ounce; put all 
into a quart bottle, and fill with 95 per cent Alcohol. 

The Germans praise the above liniment very highly as a sine 
qua non for man or beast. Dose.— For colic, for man, \ tea¬ 
spoonful ; for a horse, to 1 ounce, in a little warm water, every 
15 minutes till relieved. 

Harlem Oil, or Welsh Medicine. —Sublimed Sulphur 
and Oil of Amber, of each 2 ounces, Linseed Oil 1 pound, Spirits 
of Turpentine sufficient to reduce all to the consistence of 
thin molasses. Boil the Sulphur in the Linseed Oil until it is 
dissolved, then add the Oil of Amber and Turpentine. Dose.— 
From 15 to 25 drops, morning and evening. 

The Welsh and Germans use it extensively for strengthening 
the stomach, kidneys, liver, and lungs, asthma, shortness of 
breath, cough, inward or outward sores, dropsy, worms, gravel, 


OINTMENTS. 


225 


fevers, palpitation of the heart, giddiness, headache, etc., by 
taking it internally; and for ulcers, malignant sores, cankers, 
etc., anointing externally, and wetting linen with it, and apply¬ 
ing to burns. 

Lime and Oil. —Take equal parts of common Linseed Oil 
and Lime Water, and shake well. Applied to burns, scalds, 
sun peeling, etc. 

English Liniment. —Take Chloroform, Olive Oil, and 
Aqua Ammonia, of each 1 ounce ; Acetate of Morphia 10 grains. 
Mix, and use as other liniments. Very valuable. 

Compound Mustard Liniment.— Take of Oil of Mus¬ 
tard 1 fluid drachm, Ethereal Extract of Mezereon 40 grains, 
Camphor 120 grains, Castor Oil 5 fluid drachms. Alcohol 4 fluid 
ounces; dissolve the Extract of Mezereon and Camphor in the 
Alcohol, and add the Oil of Mustard and Castor Oil. 

Hayes’ Pile Liniment. —Melt 1 pint Lard to the consis¬ 
tence of honey; stir in briskly 1 ounce Muriatic Acid until 
thoroughly incorporated, and add 1 ounce Tincture of Opium, 
2 ounces Oil of Turpentine, and 2 drachms Camphor. 

Chilblain Liniment. —Mix together 2 ounces Soap Lini¬ 
ment and 1 ounce Tincture of Spanish Flies. Apply at intervals 
during the day. 

Arnica Liniment. —Add to 1 pint Sweet Oil 2 tablespoon¬ 
fuls Tincture of Arnica. Good for wounds, stiff joints, rheuma¬ 
tism, and all injuries. 

McLean’s Neuralgic Liniment. —Mix together 4 grains 
Extract of Belladonna, 6 fluid ounces Ammonia Water, % fluid 
ounce Oil of Turpentine, J fluid ounce Olive Oil, a*nd 2 fluid 
ounces Tincture of Opium. Apply during the paroxysms. 

Graham’s Neuralgic Liniment. —Mix together 1 fluid 
ounce Chloroform, 2 fluid drachms Oil of Cajeput, 1-J ounces 
Spirits of Camphor, 2 drachms Fluid Extract Veratrum Viride, 
and 1 ounce Fluid Extract of Aconite Boot. 

Mexican Mustang Liniment. —Take 2 fluid ounces 
Petroleum, 1 fluid ounce Ammonia Water, and 1* fluid drachm 
Alcohol. Mix. 

Barrell’s Indian Liniment. —Alcohol 1 quart. Tincture 


226 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


of Capsicum 1 ounce. Oils of Origanum, Sassafras, Pennyroyal, 
Hemlock, of each £ ounce, and mix. 

Camphor Liniment. —Spirits of Camphor 2 ounces, Lau¬ 
danum i ounce, Spirits of Turpentine 1 ounce, Castile soap, in 
powder, \ ounce, Alcohol 3 ounces. Set in a warm place for 
2 to 3 days, and if the soap is not all dissolved strain it, or heat 
it. In bad cases of whooping cough, and for chronic bronchial 
affections, this Camphor Liniment may be applied warm to the 
throat, chest, and spine. 

Camphorated Oil. —Olive Oil 1 pint, Camphor 2 ounces. 
Mix and dissolve by gentle heat. In chronic rheumatism, sore 
throat, inflammation of the lungs, etc., this will be found a 
powerful external stimulant, drawing the blood to the surface 
from the painful part; and the parts should be covered with 
flannel, which increases the heat and prevents evaporation. 

Camphorated Oil Liniment. —Take the Camphorated 
Oil, as above, and Spirits of Turpentine, of each 2 ounces. Lau¬ 
danum and Aqua Ammonia, of each 1 ounce. Shake well. This 
will be found very valuable in rheumatic pains of the loins of 
long standing, or for any long standing pains. 

Compound Camphor and Cayenne. —Alcohol 1 pint,, 
Camphor Gum 1 ounce, Cayenne, pulverized, \ ounce. Lobelia, 
herb or seed pulverized, ounce. Set in a warm place and 
shake occasionally for a few days ; then strain, or pour off free 
from the sediment. Rub well into the parts affected, and it 
will generally relieve and ease the pains readily. 

VARIOUS PAIN REMEDIES. 

Remedy for Lumbago. —Rectified Oil of Turpentine 25 
drops, Sulphuric Ether 1 scruple. Mucilage of Gum Arabic 3 
drachms. Syrup of Poppies 1 drachm, Rose water 1-J ounces \ 
make into a draught; take at bed time. 

Remedy for a Weak Back. —Take a beefs gall, pour it 
into 1 pint Alcohol, and bathe frequently. 

Instantaneous Pain Killer. —Made as follows : Take 
Aqua Ammonia, Sulphuric Ether, and Alcohol, equal parts, 
mix, and apply over the pain. 


WASHES AND LOTIONS—COUGH REMEDIES. 227 

Perry Davis’ Pain Killer.— This preparation is said to be 


prepared as follows : 

Powdered Guaiac. 5 pounds. 

Gum Camphor.*. 8 ounces. 

Powdered Capsicum. 24 ounces. 

Caustic Liquor Ammonia. 4 ounces. 

Powdered Opium. 2 ounces. 


Digest the above ingredients in 8 gallons Alcohol for 2 weeks, then filter, 
when the preparation will be ready for use. 

Immediate Relief from Pain. —Take 2 quarts of 95 per 
cent Alcohol and add to it the following articles : Oils of Sassa¬ 
fras, Hemlock, Spirits of Turpentine, Balsam of Fir, Chloro¬ 
form, and Tincture of Catechu and Guaiacum, of each 1 ounce, 
Oil of Origanum 2 ounces, Oil of Wintergreen £ ounce, and Gum 
Camphor ounce. May be successfully employed in rheuma¬ 
tism, bruises, neuralgia, sprains, headache, burns, and spinal 
affections. 

WASHES AND LOTIONS. 

Chapped Hands. —Wash the hands with fine soap; and 
before removing the soap, scrub the hands with a tablespoon ful 
of cornmeal, rinsing thoroughly with soft tepid water, using a 
little meal each time except the last; wipe the hands perfectly 
dry, then rinse them in a very little water containing a teaspoon¬ 
ful of pure Glycerine, rubbing the hands together until the 
water has evaporated. This is an excellent remedy, but the 
Glycerine must be pure, or it will irritate instead of healing. 

A Cure for Bed-Sores. —Apply to the sores the white of 
an egg, well beaten, and mixed with Spirits of Wine. 

Wash for Bed-Sores. —To 1 tablespoonful of powdered 
Alum put 1 teacupful of Whisky, and bathe the sore part several 
times a day. 

Lotion for Chafing —Stout persons suffer greatly, especially 
in warm weather, from Chafing. There is nothing better than 
a wash of Alum dissolved in water, and applied with a linen or 
cotton cloth. 

COUGH REMEDIES. 

An Excellent Drink for a Cough or Cold —Take 1 tea¬ 
cupful of Flaxseed, soak all night. In the morning put in a 







228 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


kettle 2 quarts water, 1 handful of Liquorice Root (split up), \ 
pound good raisins (cut in half). Boil them until the strength 
is thoroughly extracted, then add the soaked Flaxseed. Let all 
boil about half an hour, watching and stirring, that the mixture 
may not burn. Then strain and add lemon juice and sugar to 
taste. Take any quantity, cold, through the day, and -J wine- 
glassful warm, at night. The above is a most excellent remedy. 

Ayer’s Cherry Pectoral. —The following is said to be 
somewhat near to, if not identical with the receipt after which 
this well known article is compounded : Take of Syrup of Wild 
Cherry 6 drachms. Syrup of Squills 3 drachms, Tincture of 
Bloodroot 2 drachms, Sweet Spirits of Nitre 2 drachms, Anti- 
monial Wine 3 drachms, Wine of Ipecacuanha 3 drachms, Sim¬ 
ple Syrup 1-J- ounces, Acetate of Morphine 2 grains. Mix, and 
add Oil of Bitter Almonds 2 drops; dissolved in Alcohol 1 
drachm. 

Brown’s Bronchial Troches. —Take 1 pound pulverized 
Extract of Liquorice, 1£ pounds Pulverized Sugai*, 4 ounces Pul¬ 
verized Cubebs, 4 ounces Pulverized Gum Arabic, and 1 ounce 
Pulverized Extract of Conium; mix, and divide into 10-grain 
troches. 

Pulmonic Wafers. —Lump Sugar, Liquorice, and Starch, 
of each 2 parts, Gum 10 parts, Squills and Ipecacuanha of each 
5 parts, Lactucarium 2 parts; mix, and divide into 8-grain 
lozenges. 

EMETICS. 

Eclectic Emetic Powder, —Ipecacuanha and Lobelia, of 
each 2 ounces, Bloodroot 1 ounce; powder, and mix well. 
Take \ teaspoonful in % teacup warm water, repeating every 20 
minutes until free vomiting takes place. 

Ipecac Emetic. —Ipecacuanha Wine \ ounce, water 1 
ounce, Simple Syrup \ ounce; mix. For a child, 20 drops or 
more, every 15 minutes until vomiting ensues. An adult may 
take from ^ to 1 ounce. 

Simple Emetic. —Half a glass of warm water, 1 heaping 
teaspoonful of salt and another of mustard. These mate¬ 
rials are usually to be had at a moment’s notice, and form a very 
efficient emetic, especially in cases of poisoning. 


GARGLES—FOMENTATIONS. 


229 


GARGLES. 

Gargle for Sore Throat. —Mix 2 drachms Chlorate of 
Potash in 6 ounces water. Gargle 3 or 4 times daily. 

Carbolic Acid Gargle. —Used as a gargle for sore throat, 
attended with foul breath. Take 2 drops of the acid to 1 ounce 
of water. 

Gargle for Quinsy. —Barley Water and infusion of bruised 
Flaxseed. This gargle is to be used warm. It acts by soften¬ 
ing the parts of the throat, and hastening the suppuration by 
its heat; and it is requisite, therefore, that the temperature 
of the gargle be kept up. 

A Good Gargle. —Very strong Sage tea £ pint, strained 
Honey, common Salt, and strong Vinegar, of each 2 tablespoon- 
fdc* Cayenne Pepper (pulverized) 1 rounding teaspoonful; steep¬ 
ing the Cayenne Pepper with the Sage, strain, mix, and bottle 
for use, gargling from 4 to a dozen times daily, according to the 
severity of the case. Is excellent for sore throat. 

Gargle for Ulcerated Sore Throat. —Water -J- pint, 
decoction of Peruvian Bark £ pint. Sulphate of Zinc 1 drachm ; 
mix, gargling every 3 or 4 hours. 

Chlorate Potassa Gargle. —Strong Sage tea 1 pint, 
strained Honey 2 tablespoonfuls, Chlorate of Potassa 1 teaspoon¬ 
ful; mix and use as often as necessary, being careful to shake before 
using. Also poultice the throat with hops and warm vinegar. 

Gargle for Diphtheria. —Carbolic Acid 20 drops. Acetic 
Acid -J- drachm, Honey 2 fluid ounces, Tincture of Myrrh 2 fluid 
drachms, water 6 fluid ounces. The Carbolic and Acetic acids 
to be well shaken together before the other ingredients are 
added. 


FOMENTATIONS. 

Oak Bark Fomentation. —Take a strong decoction of 
Oak Bark 2 pints, powdered Alum 1 ounce; mix together and 
apply cold by dipping cloths and applying to the parts. This is 
a powerful astringent, and of great use when applied to weak 
parts. 

Stimulating Fomentation. —Cayenne Pepper 1 ounce, 
Mustard Seed, bruised, 1 ounce, Whisky 1 pint; simmer all 


230 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


together a few minutes. Excellent external application in chol¬ 
era, paralysis, palsy, rheumatism, etc. 

Fomentation for Black Eyes, Bruises and Sprains.— 
Take Arnica Flowers 2 ounces, Rice Leaves 1 ounce, boiling water 
sufficient to strain 1 teacupful of the infusion after it has steeped 
an hour at nearly boiling temperature. This is a most excellent 
remedy. 


DIFFICULTIES OF THE EAR. 

Earache. —Drop 2 drops Tincture of Digitalis on a bit of 
cotton and press it into the opening of the ear. 

Another Remedy. —Take a clean clay tobacco pipe, 
put in the bowl a little cotton and drop on it 8 or 10 drops of 
Chloroform, then put some more cotton over it to prevent evap¬ 
oration ; then place the stem of the pipe carefully in the ear, 
first winding it with a bit of cloth; then let some person blow 
gently in the bowl of the pipe. A little cotton may be packed 
in the rim of the ear round the pipe-stem to confine the vapor. 

Cure for Earache. —Take a small piece of cotton batting, 
make a depression in the centre with the finger, and fill it up 
with as much ground Black Pepper as will rest on a silver five- 
cent piece ; gather it into a ball and tie it up; dip the ball into 
Sweet Oil and insert it in the ear, covering the latter with cotton¬ 
batting, and use a bandage or cap to retain it in its place. Almost 
instant relief will be experienced, and the application is so gentle 
that ail infant will not be injured by it. One part Laudanum 
and 6 parts Sweet Oil dropped in the ear is also very effectual. 

Inflammation of the Ear. —Swelling and redness, attended 
with throbbing, indicates it. If caused by accumulation of wax, 
syringe the ear forcibly with tepid water. If by cold, a poultice 
of warm hops, placing the feet in hot mustard water. If the 
pain is great, 1 drop Laudanum and 2 drops Sweet Oil of 
Almonds dropped into the ear 3 times a day, or juice of onions 
and Laudanum. 

Cure for Temporary Deafness. —Inject warm water 
into the ear by means of a small syringe, the head being placed 
with that side upward during the operation. 


DISINFECTANTS. 


231 


To Destroy Insects in the Ear. —Insects may be 
destroyed by pouring 15 or 20 drops of warm Olive Oil, or Cam¬ 
phorated Oil, into the ear over night, retaining it there until the 
• next morning by means of some cotton-batting, when it may be 
syringed out with a little Castile soap and warm water. 

DISINFECTANTS. 

Copperas. —One pound of Green Copperas dissolved in 1 
quart of water, and scattered down a water-closet, will effectually 
counteract and destroy the foulest smells. On board ships and 
steamboats, about hotels and other public places, there is noth¬ 
ing so good to purify the air. Simple Green Copperas, dissolved 
under the bed in anything that will hold water, will render a 
hospital, or other places for the sick, free from unpleasant smells. 
If a cat, rat, or mouse dies about the house, place some dissolved 
Copperas in an open vessel near the place where the nuisance is, 
and it will purify the atmosphere. 

Dry Earth. —Has recently been found to possess extraordi¬ 
nary properties of absorbing bad odors. In the Philadelphia 
hospitals Dry Earth has not only been found to destroy all the 
bad odors in the wards, or divisions of the hospital, but also to 
absorb the septic, or infecting matter of wounds. 

Manganese.—A very effective disinfectant, and easily 
made by moistening 2 ounces of the Black Oxide of Manganese 
in 4 ounces of Oil of Vitriol, and 2 ounces of water, all to be 
placed in a shallow, or low earthen, or stone-ware dish. Gas 
will be liberated, or set free, for several days, or until the Man¬ 
ganese is all decomposed. 

Carbolic Acid as a Disinfectant. —Best employed 
by mixing with sand or sawdust in the proportion of 1 part 
by weight of acid, and 3 parts of the inert material. The 
mixture is placed in earthen pots. Carbolic Acid, diluted with 
25 to 30 times its weight of water, has been found useful in 
sprinkling daily the floors and the bedding of sick chambers. 
It has been stated by M. Devergie, that water containing only 
the -nfcx part of its weight of Carbolic Acid sufficed for the dis¬ 
infection of a dead-house during the hottest weather, when it 
contained from 6 to 7 bodies. Also equally effective for disin¬ 
fecting stables, slaughter houses, etc. 


232 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


New York Disinfecting Fluid.— The Board of Health 
of the city of New York have recommended a disinfecting fluid 
composed of Sesquiehloride of Iron, Chloride of Manganese, 
Chlorine, and Carbolic Acid. Sesquiehloride of Iron is prepared 
by dissolving the Hydrated Sesquioxide of Iron in Muriatic Acid; 
to this is added 10 per cent, of Carbolic Acid. This gives 
the fluid in a concentrated form, and it should be largely diluted 
with water at the time of using. Its effects are compound. 
The Iron checks fermentation, and the Chlorine acts as an oxi¬ 
dizing agent. The Carbolic Acid also aids in arresting decom¬ 
position and fermentation, and the whole combination, there¬ 
fore, by its chemical action, decomposes the sulphuretted 
hydrogen. 

Onions as a Disinfectant. —Onions placed in the room 
where there is small pox will blister, and decompose with great 
rapidity; besides this, they will prevent the spread of the dis¬ 
ease. As a disinfectant they have no equal, when properly used. 

REMEDIES FOR DIARRHEA AND CHOLERA. 

The following recipes have all been used in practice and can 
be depended on as invaluable : 

1. Diarrhea, or Dj^sentery, when caused by eating green fruits 
or stale vegetables, or indigestible food, is promptly cured with 
the following prescription : » 


1$. Tinct. Opium. 1 ounce. 

Spirits Camphor. 1 ounce. 

Tinct. Rhubarb. 1 ounce. 

Tinct. Capsicum.| ounce. 

Best Brandy. 2 ounces. 


Mix. Dose.—O ne teaspoonful every 2 hours, until the discharges are 
checked. 

2. When there is pain in the bowels, with Diarrhea, give the 


following: 

Tincture Camphor. jounce. 

Tincture Opium.£ ounce. 

Tincture Rhubarb. £ ounce. 

Tincture Capsicum. | ounce. 

Tincture Ginger. £ ounce. 

Chloroform.£ ounce. 


Mix. Dose.— One-half teaspoonful in tablespoonful of brandy, each half 
hour until relieved. 













DIARRHEA AND DYSENTERY. 233 

3. For pain and griping in the bowels, without Diarrhea, give : 

1$. Tincture Camphor. 4 drachms. 

Tincture Capsicum.20 drops. 

Chloroform. 4 drachms. 

Mix. Dose. —One teaspoonful in water—brandy is better—every hour, 
until relieved. 

Chronic Diarrhea Cordial. —There is scarcely a case of 
Chronic Diarrhea or Dysentery, that the following will not cure, 
or at least greatly benefit. It is the author’s favorite pre¬ 


scription : 

R. Tincture Rhubarb. 1 ounce. 

Tincture Catechu. 1 ounce. 

Tincture Kino.1 ounce. 

Tincture Opium. i ounce. 

Tincture Camphor. £ ounce. 

Tincture Capsicum. 1 drachm. 

Syrup Ginger.2 ounces. 


Mix. Dose.— One tablespoonful after each movement of the bowels; 

Another Remedy. —Scald a teacupful of milk, and stir hr 
a teaspoonful of mutton tallow and a little salt; drink warm. 

Simple Remedy for Dysentery.— Take hot water 1 gill, 
vinegar £ pint; mix; then continue to add common salt as long 
as it will be dissolved, stirring and agitating it freely and fre¬ 
quently. Give for an adult 1 tablespoonful every hour until the: 
bloody discharges cease, or until it operates freely on the bowels.- 
The patient must remain in bed. This is a prescription found! 
in an English work, and though it seems a pretty strong dose it 
is worthy a trial. 

Cholera Mixture. —The following remedy was used with 
great success during the cholera season of 1835, in Cincinnati, 
Louisville, and other places on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers: 


1$. Oil Anise. 4 drachms.. 

Oil Peppermint.4 drachms. 

Oil Cajeput.4 drachms. 

Oil Cloves. 4 drachms. 

Alcohol. 2 ounces. 


Mix. Dose. —One teaspoonful, repeating every 5, 10, or 15 minutes,, 
until spasmodic action is subdued, and reaction restored. In collapsed 
stage give 2 teaspoonfuls, repeating as above. 

In cholera morbus, give from one-half to one teaspoonful, 
repeating as often as seems necessary. It checks the vomiting 
as well as the diarrhea. 

















234 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 




PRESCRIPTIONS FOR PRIVATE DISEASES. 
Nervous Fill. —For Spermatorrhea, Seminal Emissions, 


etc.: 

3$. Assafetida. 1 ounce. 

Extract of Hops. 4 drachms. 

Carbonate of Ammonia. 4 drachms. 

Bromide of Camphor. 1 ounce. 


Idix, and make into 3-grain pills, then sugar coat and cover with Gelatin. 
The dose is from 3 to 6 pills each day. 

This pill has been used with great success by Dr. Merwin in 
treating nervous and hysterical diseases of females, and as a 
remedy to control erotic impulses, and permanently cure 
Seminal Weakness, Night Emissions, Spermatorrhea, weakness 
and debility of the Generative Organs. It has proved in hun¬ 
dreds of cases to be the very best remedy ever compounded. 

It has failed in some cases, but after analyzing it was found 
the druggist who compounded the prescription, not having all 
the ingredients, had substituted others, and in one case the 
chemist used old, inert and inferior drugs. Patients can have 
this pill prepared in the best manner by addressing the publisher 
of this work. 

Remedy for Spermatorrhea. —Gelseminum % grain, 
Lupulin 3 grains. To be taken each night on retiring. Gradually 
diminish the dose as the patient shows signs of improvement. 

Cure for Nocturnal Emissions. —Mix 50 grains 
Bromide of Potassa with 25 grains each Aromatic Powder and 
White Sugar. Make into 12 powders, 1 to be taken 2 or 3 
times a day. 

Ludlam’s Specific. —Used for Gonorrhea and Gleet; made 


.as follows: 

Extract of Rhatany. 2 drachms. 

Powdered Alum. 1 drachm. 

. Powdered Cubebs. 1 ounce. 

Balsam Copaiba. 1 ounce. 


Carbonate Magnesia, quantity sufficient to make paste. 

Dose.—A small piece 3 or 4 times a day. 

Chapman’s Copaiba Mixture. —Make a mixture of £ 
ounce Copaiba, £ fluid ounce Sweet Spirits of Nitre, 2 drachms 
Powdered Acacia, 1 drachm Sugar, 4 fluid ounces water, 2 










PRESCRIPTIONS FOR PRIVATE DISEASES. 


235 


drachms Compound Spirits of Lavender, and 1 drachm Tincture 
of Opium; mix. Dose.— A tablespoonful 3 times a day. Is 
an excellent remedy for gonorrhea and gleet. 

Ryna’s Gleet Powder. —Take 2 scruples Powdered Ergot, 
1 ounce Powdered Cubebs, % drachm Powdered Cinnamon, and 
1 drachm Sugar. Make into 8 powders. Dose.— One powder 3 
times a day, for Leucorrhea and Gleet. 

Injection Brou. —This injection, used in Paris for Gonor¬ 
rhea, is prepared, according to Bjoerklund, by dissolving 4 grains 
Sulphate of Copper in 8 ounces infusion of Matico. The 8 
ounces of infusion are made from ounce Matico. 

Bumstead’s Gonorrhea and Gleet Injection. —An 
injection, composed of 1 scruple Extract of Opium, 1 fluid ounce 
Glycerine and 3 fluid ounces water, passed into the urethra 
after every passage of urine, affords relief in local pain, and 
causes diminution of discharge. 

King’s Specific. —Take 2 ounces Sweet Spirits of Nitre, 1£ 
•drachms Oil of Cubebs, 2 ounces Balsam of Copaiba, 1 drachm 
Oil of Turpentine, 20 drops Oil of Cinnamon, 3 ounces Mucilage 
of Gum Arabic, and sufficient Tincture of Cochineal to color; 
mix. Dose.— One teaspoonful 3 times each day. 

Gleet. —Old obstinate chronic cases of Gleet that have defied 
treatment, are quickly cured by the following : 


I?. Tannic Acid. 10 graina 

Nitric Acid. 5 drops. 

Distilled Water. 4 ounces. 


Mix, and fuse as an injection twice or 3 times each day, until the dis¬ 
charge is suppressed. After this, once a day, at night on going to bed, for 
a week or two. 

Compound Injection. —Take Sulphate of Zinc, Sul¬ 
phate of Morphia, Muriate of Hydrastus, and Carbolic Acid, of 
each 5 grains. Fluid Extract of Belladonna 1 drachm, water 6 
ounces. Mix, and use as an injection for Gonorrhea or Gleet 3 
or 4 times a day ; no better preparation known. 

Gargle for Syphillitic Sore Throat. —Mix together 2 
grains Corrosive Sublimate, 1 ounce Alcohol, 3 ounces Tincture 
of Peruvian Bark, and 1 ounce each Honey of Roses and Tinc¬ 
ture of Myrrh. Mix. Gargle the throat thoroughly 3 or 4 times 
each day. 





236 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


Gonorrhea Pills. —Very effectual in all stages of Gonor¬ 


rhoea and Gleet: 

1$. Pulverized Cubebs. 2 drachms.. 

Solidified Copaiba. 1 drachm. 

Sulphate Iron. 30 grains. 

Venetian Turpentine.... . 1 drachm. 


Mix, and make into 3-grain pills. Dose.— Two pills 3 times each day. 

An injection used at the same time will greatly assist in making: 
a perfect cure. See injection preparations under this head 
preceding. 

Goddard’s Gonorrhea Mixture —Take 2 drachms Oil of 
Cubebs, J ounce Balsam of Copaiba, 1 ounce each Syrup of Tolu 
and Syrup of Poppy, 2 drachms strong Liquor of Potassa, 1 
drachm Oil of Juniper, and 2-J ounces Peppermint Water. Mix. 
Dose.— A tablespoonful 3 times a day. 

Blood Purifier, —The following blood purifying pre- 
scription has been used in the author’s practice for many years, 
during which time hundreds of cases of secondary Syphillia 


were successfully treated : 

Compound Fluid Extract Stillingia. 6 ounces.. 

Acetate Potassa. 1 ounce. 


Mix, and take 1 teaspoonful 3 times daily, immediately after meals. 

Swelled Testicle. —In the year 1856 a gentleman ini 
Louisville, Kentucky, received an injury by riding a vicious 
horse, which produced an inflammation and swelling that all the 1 
usual remedies, such as ice, Belladonna, etc., failed to reduce. 
The following brought relief in a few hours, and a permanent 


cure in due time : 

Muriate of Ammonia. 1 ounce. 

Strong Vinegar. 1 pint. 


Mix, and keep the parts constantly moistened with cloths dipped in the 
mixture. 


MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES. 

For Canker or Sore Mouth.— Take a teaspoonful of 
Alum, 2 teaspoonfuls each of Powdered Golden Seal, Loaf Sugar 
and Honey, and 3 of Powdered Sage ; put into a pint of water, 
and steep slowly for an hour, and strain. Apply to the diseased 
part as a wash 3 or 4 times each day. 










MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES. 


237 


Distress From Ice-Water. —Put £ ounce Spirits of 
Camphor in 1 ounce of Brandy, and drink the whole within five 
minutes by liberal sips or small draughts at intervals. 

Caution in Drinking. —When very thirsty, take drink 
-only by light draughts, especially ice-water and other cold 
drinks. Deaths frequently occur from paralysis of the stomach, 
•caused by suddenly overcharging it with ice-cold water. 

Caution to Painters. —Lead paralysis of the wrists results 
largely from the habit with painters of using turpentine to clean 
the hands from paint, etc. The turpentine decomposes the lead 
and at the same time opens the pores of the skin so that it is 
readily absorbed. Benzine or Naptha will be less harmful. 

Molinari’s Remedy for Sea-Sickness. —Digest for 12 
hours in If Imperial pints of Wine Vinegar, £ ounce each of Kue, 
'Thyme, Mint, Rosemary, Absinthe, Turmeric, and Green Wal¬ 
nut Rind; £ ounce Annatto, j- ounce Pearlash, and 1 Poppy- 
head. After digestion boil for \ hour, then strain through 
linen; in this decoction are moistened or dipped some four or 
five strips of filtering paper seven or eight inches long, and then 
dried ; upon one side of these strips some light stuff is fastened 
by the corners and some loose wadding placed inside. Strings 
are next fastened to the bandage and it is then tied around the 
body so as to cover the region of the heart. This preventive of 
sea-sickness has been patented in England. 

Caution in Visiting Sick Rooms. —In a sick room, 
stand where the air passes from the door or window to the bed 
•of the diseased. When poisonous vapor is much diluted with 
fresh air, it is not noxious. After leaving an infectious room, 
a person should continue in the open air some time before he 
-enters his own dwelling. (See page 212.) 

Spirits of Camphor. —Made by dissolving 2 ounces of 
Gum Camphor in a pint of Alcohol. Whisky may be used 
instead of Alcohol, but does not make as strong a solution. 

Thompson’s “Number Six.” —Gum Myrrh, bruised, 1 
pound, Powdered Cayenne Pepper 1 ounce ; macerate for 8 days 
in 1 gallon strong Alcohol (95 per cent). This is an excellent 
.stimulant and tonic. 

Dover’s Powder. —Ipecacuanha, in powder, 1 drachm. 


238 


MEDICAL RECIPES. 


Powdered Opium 1 drachm, Sulphate of Potassa 1 ounce. All 
well mixed. Dose. —From 8 to 20 grains. 

Aromatic Drops. —For expelling wind. Angelica 2 ounces,. 
Lady's Slipper 1 ounce, Sweet Flag \ ounce, Anise 1 ounce, Fen¬ 
nel Seed £ ounce. Catnip Flowers 1 ounce, Motherwort 1 ounce, 
Pleurisy Root 2 ounces. Infuse in a pint of Spirits of Wine for 
3 or 4 days, often shaking, keeping it in a warm place ; then 
add a pint of water and a tablespoonful of Tincture of Cayenne. 
Excellent in flatulency, colic, nervous affections, and in promot¬ 
ing perspiration and refreshing sleep. 

Hamburg Tea. —This formula for “ Hamburger Thee ” is 
given by Hager. Mix together 8 parts Senna Leaves, 4 parts 
Manna, and 1 part Coriander. Is much used among Germans. 

For Vomiting. —One drop of Oil of Capsicum, in capsule,, 
will arrest Vomiting produced by sea-sickness, in Asiatic Cholera,, 
and also in the morning sickness of pregnancy. 

Sticking Plaster. —An excellent Sticking Plaster for sores: 
and cracked hands is made as follows : 


1$. Rosin. 1 pound. 

Beeswax. 1 ounce. 

Mutton Tallow. 1 ounce. 


When all are well melted by gentle heat, remove from the fire, and keep- 
stirring till the mixture is about as cool as it will pour, then add 1 table- 
spoonful of Spirits of Turpentine, and 2 teaspoonfuls of Carbolic Acid; 
thoroughly mix and stir all together; then pour the whole into a bucket of 
cold water ; when cool enough take it out and work it as a shoemaker does 
his wax. When sufficiently worked, roll it out in small sticks. Keep the 
hands well greased to prevent the mixture sticking while working. 

The above is equal to any Sticking Plaster ever compounded,, 
and considered by many who have used it to be the best. 

Poor Man’s Plaster. —Take Beeswax 1 ounce, Tar 3 
ounces, Resin 3 ounces. To be melted together and spread on 
paper or muslin. 

Osgood’s India Cholagogne. —Dr. Mayes, of Mayes- 
ville, S. C., gives the following receipt, which h3 declares to 
be very similar to, if not identically the same, in taste, smell 
and effects, f as Osgood's India Cholagogue. Take 2 drachms 
Sulphate of Quinine, 1 drachm Fluid Extract of Leptandra, 4 





MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES. 


239 


ounces Saturated Tincture of Queen's Root, 3 drachms Fluid 
Extract of Podophyllum, 10 drops each of Oil of Sassafras 
and Oil of Wintergreen, and sufficient best New Orleans Molasses 
to make the whole equal to 8 ounces. This mixture to be well 
shaken up before a dose is measured, as the Quinine (not being 
dissolved) will settle to the bottom of the bottle. The dose for 
adults is from 1 to 3 teaspoonfuls 3 times a day. The dose is, 
however, a matter dependent entirely upon the nature of the 
case, and may be less or more, according to circumstances. It 
usually requires at least one 8-ounce bottle of the mixture to 
insure a permanent cure. This is the well-known remedy for 
Fever and Ague, or Chills and Fever. 

Ayer’s Sarsaparilla. —Take 3 fluid ounces each of Alcohol, 
Fluid Extracts of Sarsaparilla and of Stillingia, 2 fluid ounces 
each Fluid Extracts of Yellow dock and of Podophyllum, 1 ounce 
Sugar, 90 grains Iodide of Potassium, and 10 grains Iodide of 
Iron. This is from a receipt given by Dr. Ayer himself. 

A Good Remedy for Spasms. —Nursing babes are many 
times afflicted with convulsions or Spasms, caused by indigesti¬ 
ble food, worms, teething, etc. One of the best remedies to 
afford immediate relief is to take about half a teaspoonful of 
Powdered Assafetida, dissolved in a teacupful of hot water. 
When blood-warm throw a part of the mixture into the lower 
bowel with a small syringe, and repeat within 10 minutes if 
necessary. 











Old People 



























































PART I—APPENDIX. 

SUBJECTS NOT ELSEWHERE CLASSIFIED. 


OLD PEOPLE. 

After people have passed the “ turn of life,” they may continue 
in vigor for a good many years, and some may strike out in new 
enterprises and achieve marked successes ; but the tendency is to 
gradually narrow the range of their purposes, plans, efforts, 
thoughts and desires. They have passed the aggressive period 
of life, and incline to rest and repose. They are disinclined to 
change their places of residence, unless it be in a way that will 
•contribute more to their ease. Especially are they disinclined 
to change their abodes by long distances, and such changes, 
when made, are liable to bring an early end to the life of the 
person. 

Old people do not readily change their habits, and those con¬ 
siderably advanced in years will usually live longer and more 
comfortably by continuing bad habits than by forcing changes. 
Many times men who have spent their lives to the age of sixty 
in active business, retire with the purpose of enjoying the ease 
and comfort of old age and competence, when the very change 
irom an active life to one of leisure brings early dissolution; 
while not unfrequently suicide follows in such cases. 

An old person is like an old piece of machinery; it may be 
worked up to a given point, but beyond that it will break down. 
What old people need and require, is an even life. They cannot 
intermit their habits either of eating, sleep or rest, with impu¬ 
nity, as in youth. They should avoid excessive exertion, either 
mental or physical. They are sensitive to cold, and should 



242 


APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 


therefore avoid exposures, and their sleeping apartments should 
be warmed to their desire. The affections to which old people 
are most subject are Piles, Apoplexy, Paralysis, diseases of the 
Liver, Kidneys, Bladder and Heart, Dropsy, chronic affections, 
of the Throat and Lungs, Gout, etc. 

The several stages of Old Age have been divided as follows r 
Declining Age from fifty to sixty; Incipient Old Age from 
sixty to seventy; Ripe Old Age from seventy to eighty; Decrep¬ 
itude or Second Infancy from eighty to the end of life. 

It is a satisfying reflection that as age advances the hold on 
life relaxes. The hopes, the ambitions, the propensities, that 
lure youth with their promise and gild the horizon of middle 
life to with their fulfilment, decay with age, and with them the 
tenacity of life that' marks its earlier stages. Old people many 
times express a wish and desire to pass from a life in which they 
have ceased to be useful. The pleasures that they once enjoyed 
have for them ceased forever. They have lost the spirit and 
strength to follow the labors and enterprises in which they once 
took delight and from which they found increase. The friends 
of earlier life have dropped away one by one, and they have long 
since ceased to form new friendships. They find themselves 
gradually isolated, alone, aimless, passionless ; they drop silently 
away like the shriveled leaf in autumn. While the young and the 
middle aged cannot stay the ebbing life of old age, they can do 
much to render its remaining days cheerful and pleasant, in 
obedience both to the natural and the social law. 

Sleep for the Aged. —Old people usually retire early, from 
choice. They should rise only when they feel refreshed, though 
the hour may be later than their usual habit. If they find diffi¬ 
culty in sleeping, a little wine or spirits taken on retiring may 
be of service. Lying with the head to the north, as suggested 
on page 15, may prove beneficial. 

Diet. —Old people consume less of food than the young and 
middle aged. Rich foods are unsuited to them, and generally 
are not preferred. Their food should be plain and well cooked, 
and the meats tender, not only for its greater digestibility, but 
because few old persons are blessed with teeth to masticate hard 
substances. And as milk is the food of infancy, it is not singu- 


OLD PEOPLE-HEART DISEASE. 243 

lar that as people reach their second childhood, they should not 
only relish milk, but find it a desirable article of diet. 

Susceptibility to Cold.— This has been spoken of pre¬ 
ceding. It may [be further said in the same connection that 
the death rate with old people is much greater in the winter 
than at any other season. 

The Sexes. —In early life, men are stronger and firmer in. 
their structure and attributes than women. Later in life the 
rule seems to be reversed ; where a woman passes the turn of 
life sucessfully, she is likely to be stronger and more even in her 
habit, while men advanced in life tend to nervousness and 
irritability. 

Medical Treatment. —Aged people do not respond as read¬ 
ily to medication as the young. And the treatment generally 
should be of a more bland and gentle character. They sink 
more readily under fractures of the bones and other accidents of 
violence, and lack the power to rally under severe surgical ope¬ 
rations. 

Deafness in old People. —Old persons sometimes suffer 
from what seems confused sounds within the ear. Saturate a 
bit of cotton in Spirits of Ammonia and Tincture of Lavender, 
equal parts, and place in the ear. 


HEART DISEASE. 

There are so many affections of the heart, that the term “ Heart 
Disease ” is a misnomer, and is used here as conventional merely, 
and not as defining anything in scientific medicine. Nor is there 
any attempt in this connection to treat at all exhaustively of 
affections of the heart, the purpose being to touch only super¬ 
ficially upon some of those that are the most common. 

Any disease of the heart is attended with more or less of men¬ 
tal depression, apprehension, a sense of half mournfulness, as 
one forlorn, etc. Frequent and heavy sighing is a symptom of 
heart trouble, although this may arise from disappointed hopes 
or affections, as sometimes flippantly called “an affair of the 
heart.” Persons liable to Heart Disease should avoid all excite¬ 
ments and violent agitations, either mental or physical, although 



244 


APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 


they should cultivate a cheerfulness and evenness of temper and 
demeanor, and indulge moderate recreations and amusements. 
A gloomy, moody or brooding habit should be equally avoided 
with excitation. The frequent deaths from Heart Disease show 
the prevalence of causes tending to produce it, which may be 
due in no small degree to the restless spirit of activity that char¬ 
acterizes this age of railways and telegraphs. 

HYPERTROPHY OR ENLARGEMENT OF THE HEART. 

Without describing the physiological or chemical relation of 
the heart to the animal economy, it will be sufficient here to 
speak of it as the organ for changing the blood of the system. 
The average human body carries from three to four gallons of 
blood, and this blood passes through the heart once in about a 
minute and a half, repeating the operation continually during 
the lifetime of the person. Having this amount of work to per¬ 
form, it is a strong and compact piece of machinery. If sub¬ 
jected to extra labor it acquires an extra growth, as the arm of 
the blacksmith becomes huge and strong from vigorous exercise. 
Any excitement or undue agitation that sends the blood cours¬ 
ing through the heart more rapidly than usual, subjects it to 
.extra labor and to a larger growth, and this is the philosophy of 
what is called Hypertrophy, or Enlargement of the Heart. The 
more readily detected symptoms are, a stronger action of the 
heart and of the pulse, occasioning sometimes a lifting and heav¬ 
ing of the chest over the heart; palpitation more constant than 
in any other disease of the organ ; rush of blood to the head on 
making exertion, or on stooping; more or less throbbing head¬ 
aches, aggravated by suddenly lying down or rising up ; vertigo 
or dizziness, ringing in the ears, sparks of light and other illu¬ 
sions before the eyes, with a purplish, violet or livid color upon 
the cheeks, nose, and lips. In advanced stages the patient gets 
easily out of breath. 

Treatment. —All causes that occasion excitement and palpi¬ 
tation should be avoided as far as possible. Mustard plasters 
should be placed over the heart, and if there is a fullness with 
painful sensation in the head, mustard plasters should also be 
applied to the back of the neck. The bowels should be kept in 
regular condition by the use of the Compound Podophyllin Pill. 
The kidneys should he relieved by the use of Acetate of Potassa 


HEART DISEASE. 


245 


20 grains, dissolved in a tablespoonful of water and repeated 3 
times daily for a week or two. 

The force of the heart's action may be controlled by taking 1 
or 2 drops of Fluid Extract Veratrum Yiride in a teaspoonful of 
water, and repeating hourly until the quickness of the pulse is 
reduced—usually 3 or 4 doses will be sufficient. 

Violent exercise, such as running or walking fast, or being in 
a hurry about anything, should be avoided. Excitements of all 
kinds and descriptions are dangerous, and might, if persisted 
in, bring an attack that would prove fatal. 

The diet should be plain and simple, avoiding all high seasoned 
and rich food, living as far as practicable on vegetables and 
farinaceous articles. The meals should be eaten at regular hours, 
avoiding late suppers, and under no circumstances should Alco¬ 
holic stimulants be used. 

PALPITATION OF THE HEART. 

Nervous Palpitation of the Heart is quite common with dys¬ 
peptics, who often imagine they are suffering from organic 
disease of the heart. This affection, when thus produced, i& 
rather distressing than dangerous. It may also be produced by 
some great mental excitement, intemperance, abuse of the 
sexual functions, or nervous prostration. A sense of uneas¬ 
iness or dull pain is usually felt in the region of the heart before 
any other symptom is noticed. This is followed by a rapid 
tremulous beating of the heart, accompanied by anxiety, a sense 
of choking and difficult breathing. Dizziness, faintness, cold¬ 
ness of the skin, cold clammy perspiration and weak tremulous 
pulse, are among the common symptoms. 

Treatment, —This will be at first merely palliative, simply 
to relieve the paroxysm. For this purpose the following pre¬ 
scription may be administered with good effect: 


1$. Compound Spirits of Lavender. 2 ounces. 

Fluid Extract of Gelseminum. 1 drachm. 

Fluid Extract Veratrum Viride. 16 drops. 


Mix, and give 1 teaspoonful every hour until relieved. After the par¬ 
oxysm has passed off it may he given in 30 drop doses 3 times each day as 
a preventive of a return. To effect a permanent cure the cause of the 
palpitation must be sought for and removed by appropriate treatment. 

There are many diseases of the heart, organic and functional,, 





246 


APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 


such as Inflammation of the Heart, Neuralgia of the Heart, 
Rheumatism of the Heart, etc., which are obscure, and may 
escape recognition even by experienced physicians, and the non¬ 
professional reader will not therefore assume to determine their 
presence. Hence it is of the utmost importance for any person 
who is afflicted with any form of Heart Disease to seek the best 
.available advice and treatment. 


VARIOUS UNCLASSIFIED SUBJECTS. 

THE EYES. 

Ophthalmia is the collective term for affections of the Eyes. 
To guard against such affections, observe the following 

Rules for the Preservation of the Eyesight. —Avoid 
all sudden changes between light and darkness. 

Never read by twilight or moonlight, or on a very cloudy 
day. 

Never begin to read, write or sew, for several minutes after 
coming from darkness to a bright light. 

Never sew or read directly in front of the light or window. It 
is best to turn the back to the light, so it may fall from above, 
•obliquely over the left shoulder. 

Do not use the eyesight by light so dim that it requires an 
effort to discriminate. 

Never sleep so that on the first awakening the eye will open 
on the light of the window. 

The moment you are instinctively prompted to rub the eyes, 
that moment cease using them. 

If the eyelids are glued together on waking up, do not forcibly 
•open them, but apply the saliva from the mouth with the finger, 
then wash the eyes and face in warm water. 

Do not gaze for any length of time on bright or glaring objects, 
.as the fire, gaslight, sunshine, etc. 

Spectacles, When Needed.— The natural decay of vision 
usually begins between the ages of thirty-five and fifty. As soon 
as it is observed, the eye should have the aid of glasses ; it is a 
mistake to defer this aid under the impression that the use of 



THE EYES. 


247 


glasses will hasten the “ ageing ” of the sight. The condition 
•of the eye that requires an artificial aid is due to a natural 
change, and this aid should be supplied as soon as the need for 
it is apparent. This need is indicated by the following symp¬ 
toms : 

1. By an apparent “ running together ” of the letters or lines 
in small print. 

2. By the necessity for holding print at arm’s length, so to 
.speak, in order to read. 

3. When the eye feels fatigued from looking at a near object 
for some time. 

4. When a stronger light is required to read by than form¬ 
erly. 

Many times spectacles do not need to he used by daylight for 
a year or two after their use becomes necessary at night. And 
in the early use of glasses, they are needed more to rest the eye 
and assist it to concentrate its force, than for their magnifying 
power. Glasses with frames are preferable to those with spring 
bows. Single eye glasses should never be used. 

Sore Eyes. —The following will be found an excellent wash : 


Sulphate of Zinc. 2 grains. 

Sulphate of Atropia. i grain. 

Carbolic Acid. 1 grain. 

Distilled Water.4 ounces. 


Mix, and apply a drop in the eye every 2 hours, and apply externally 
by keeping a soft compress moistened with the liquid over the eye. 

Alum Curd for Inflamed Eyes— A good application is 
j^lum Curd, made as follows : To a pint of milk add a teaspoon¬ 
ful of powdered Alum; boil together and strain. It may be 
applied warm or cold, as appears to answer best, removing the 
poultice 3 or 4 times each day. 

Another mode to prepare is to put the white of an egg in a 
plate, and with a lump of Alum rub the egg till a thick curd is 
formed. 

Potato Poultice. —This is an excellent and cooling remedy 
for Inflamed Eyes. Take a raw potato and grate fine a sufficient 
quantity to make a poultice, which apply at night on retiring, 
removing the poultice as often as it gets hot and dry. 






248 


APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 


Eye Wash. —An excellent eye wash is made as follows: 


B. Soda Borax pulverized. 10 grains. 

Camphor Water. 1 ounce. 

Mix. Use as an eye wash 2 or 3 times daily. 

Wash For Weak Eyes.— A good wash for weak eyes is 
made by : 

J$. Atropine. 2 grains. 

Rose Water.... . 1 ounce. 

Mix, and apply 3 or 4 times a day. 


To Allay Temporary Irritation of the Eye. —Tem¬ 
porary inflammation, produced by cold or external causes, is 
rapidly allayed by frequently bathing the eye with lukewarm 
milk and water, or rose water; applied either with a linen rag 
or by means of an eye-glass. A poultice of tea leaves (the wet 
leaves left in the teapot) is also an excellent remedy. 

Specks in the Eye. —Remove specks and dirt from the 
eyes by raising the eyelid and using the finger or a point of soft 
muslin ; but the best thing, if you have it, is the bow of a smooth, 
round gold ring. Never apply any pointed instrument to the eye. 

Irritating Substances in the Eye. —For lime, lye or 
ashes in the eye, wash or syringe with a weak solution of vinegar 
in water, and if the injury is at all severe, protect the eye from 
the light. The application of a little Sweet Oil, Castor Oil, or 
sweet Cream, may prove equally as effective as the acid, and 
might be more agreeable. 

Stye in the Eye. —A Stye is a small boil which projects from 
the eyelid, much inflamed, and very painful. The application 
of ice to the part will sometimes check it in the beginning. 
Apply a poultice of flaxseed (ground), or bread and milk, and 
take at the same time an aperient, such as Cream of Tartar, 
Magnesia or Epsom Salts. If the Stye is ripe, puncture it, and 
then apply Spermaceti Ointment. 

Black Eye. —A black eye is usually caused by a blow. If 
attended with inflammation and pain, wash the eye often with 
very warm water, in which has been dissolved a little Carbonate 
of Soda ; or with equal parts Tincture of Opium and water. If 
the pain be acute, foment with a decoction of Stramonium leaves 
simmered in spirits. Wash the eye, and bind on the leaves, 
repeating often. An excellent application is a poultice of Slip- 






THE EYES—THE TEETH. 


249 


pery Elm bark ; mix with milk and put it on warm. Or take 
Nitrate of Potassa and Spirits of Ammonia, each 1 part; water, 
48 parts; vinegar, 4 parts. The part bruised to be kept wet with 
this by means of a bandage. A raw oyster or a piece of raw, 
fresh beef, bound on the eye for a few hours, will probably be 
as effective as any other application. 

CARE OF THE TEETH. 

The Teeth are a most important factor in dietetics. Men are 
not made liko snakes, to swallow their food whole, feathers and 
all. The food of man is prepared, and most of it undergoes 
division and segregation by the knife or other mechanical means 
before it is cooked. It is cut into small bits on the plate, and 
the Teeth are then called into requisition to perform the final 
mechanical work upon it before it passes into the stomach where 
it becomes subject to chemical action. The Teeth are therefore 
a most important agent in the economy of digestion and nutri¬ 
tion, and hence the importance of looking to their care and 
preservation. 

Preservation of the Teeth. —If people estimated their 
teeth at their proper value, they would not so readily submit 
them to the tender mercies of the forceps. Where there is only 
decay of a tooth, without aching, it may be saved by a skillful 
dentist by filling. Tf the tooth is so far decayed as to expose the 
nerve, and thus occasion toothache, a good dentist will in most 
cases, after destroying the nerve, prevent further decay by 
“plugging,” and thus save the tooth. 

Tartar on the Teeth. —The tartar formations that insinu¬ 
ate themselves upon the teeth next the gums, crowding the gums 
away and exposing the teeth to decay, are but accretions from 
the acids that arise from the stomach. This precipitation 
resembles lime in appearance, and sometimes flakes off, or is 
crowded off from the teeth by the tongue, leaving, to the touch 
of the tongue, what seems a large unfilled cavity. This fungus 
should not be allowed to remain, but should be removed by a 
dentist’s instrument, and it would seem that in the country, at 
least, the members of each family should possess a sufficient 
knowledge of the teeth and of the use of dental instruments, to 
treat each other with a view to the cleanliness and preservation 
of the “dental pearls.” 

16 


250 


APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 


Cleansing the Teeth.—Clean, healthy teeth contribute much 
to the personal appearance, and both as a means of preservation 
and cleanliness, the brush should be used as regularly as the 
morning toilet is made. Not only the outside of the teeth next 
the lips should be cleansed with the brush, but the grinding 
and inner surfaces also. To clean the spaces between the teeth, 
draw through them a waxed linen thread, using care not to cut 
the gums. 

Particles of food should not be allowed to remain between the 
teeth, as they generate gasses that tend to force the teeth apart, 
causing local inflammation and a feeling as though a tooth had 
partly risen out of its socket, and also occasion acids that eat 
into the enamel or outer crust of the teeth, thus preparing them 
for rapid decay, besides fouling the mouth and breath, rendering 
the latter extremely offensive. 

There are many persons who lose their teeth early from some 
.constitutional defect which the best of care could not prevent, 
but care and cleanliness will have their value in such cases, and 
will go far to preserve the teeth when they are preservable. 

Toothache. —When the nerve of a tooth has become exposed 
through decay, the tooth will ache, and there is no permanent 
remedy but extraction of the tooth or destruction of the nerve. 
For temporary relief, a bit of cotton saturated with Spirits of 
Camphor, and pressed into the cavity, is sometimes effective; 
•or Chloroform used in the same way, or with Camphor. Creo¬ 
sote also may be combined with one or both of the foregoing, or 
used by itself in a weak dilution. Alum and common salt, equal 
parts, powdered separately and mixed, may be introduced into 
the cavity as a powder. It occasions a sharp pain at first, but 
.affords relief, and if repeated a few times will kill the nerve. 

Toothache Drops. —The following preparations are good to 
relieve Toothache. They should be applied by moistening a bit 
of cotton and pressing into the cavity, which should be first 
cleansed: 

1. Alum in fine powder, 2 drachms; Nitric Ether 7 fluid 
drachms. Mix. 

2. Equal parts of Oil of Cloves, Oil of Cajeput, Oil of Amber, 
and Spirits of Camphor, mixed. 


THE TEETH. 


251 


3. Xanthoxylin 2 drachms, powdered Opium and powdered 
Camphor each 1 drachm. Oil of Cloves 10 drops. Mix, and 
triturate in a wedgewood mortar until a paste is formed. 

4. Opium and Nitre, each 2 drachms ; Camphor 1^ drachms; 
powdered Nutgalls 4 drachms ; Alcohol 3 ounces. Mix and digest 
for 14 days. 

5. Mix thoroughly 1 drachm each of Chloroform, Spirits of 
Camphor, and Laudanum. 

6. A bit of cotton wet with a strong solution of Ammonia, 
pressed into the cavity. 

7. An excellent remedy is the following : Oil Cloves 20 drops, 
Alcohol 2 drachms, Vinegar 2 drachms ; mix; apply to cavity 
of tooth on lint. 

Tooth Paste. —Take Prepared Chalk, Peruvian Bark and 
powdered Old Windsor soap, and combine them with a sufficient 
quantity of Tincture of Rhatany Root to form a thin paste. 
This will be found beneficial where the gums are soft and 
spongy, inclining to bleed, and the teeth loose. 

Tooth Wash. —Take equal parts of Sal-Ammoniac, Burnt 
Alum, and common Salt; powder, and mix with a sufficient 
quantity of water. 

Another Wash. —A good wash for the teeth is made by 
dissolving in a sufficient quantity of water an ounce of Prepared 
Chalk, 5 grains of Gum Camphor, and 1 scruple of Gum Myrrh. 
If the gums are soft and spongy, add a little Tannic Acid or 
Burnt Alum. 

Excellent Tooth Powder.— Suds of Castile Soap and 
Spirits of Camphor, of each an equal quantity; thicken with 
-equal quantities of Pulverized Chalk and Charcoal to a thick 
paste. Apply with the finger or brush. 

Foul Odor From Decayed Teeth. —To correct the odor 
of decayed teeth, 2 drops of a concentrated solution of Perman¬ 
ganate of Potash may be used in a glass of water as a wash, or a 
few drops of a weak solution may be introduced in the cavity of 
the tooth on a small piece of cotton. 

To Pull Teeth Without Pain. —Mix 1 fluid ounce each 
Tincture of Aconite Root, Chloroform, and Alcohol, with 6 
grains Morphia. May be used to diminish the pain in extracting 


252 


APPENDIX TO PAKT FIEST. 


teeth, by applying two plugs of cotton, moistened with the 
liquid, to the gums around the tooth for 1 or 2 minutes. It 
must not be swallowed. 


THE FEET. 

The feet should be washed at least two or three times a week, 
and the stockings changed. If unwashed for a week or two, 
upon soaking them for a few minutes, a coating of pasty matter 
will be found on the bottoms. This is an accumulation of mat¬ 
ter that has been passed off through the pores, and should have 
been removed by cleansing. Being confined by the feet dressing, 
it becomes solid matter, preventing the further escape of per¬ 
spiration by that channel. 

Corns. —Corns may come upon the feet, upon the hands from 
the use of scissors, and upon the knees from frequent and pro¬ 
tracted devotions; but those upon the feet are the most trouble¬ 
some. As a preventive, wear easily fitting shoes and smooth, 
stockings, so as to prevent rubbing or pressing any part. 

Treatment of Corns.. —There are many remedies extant 
for Corns, of which the following are given as combining the 
best treatment: 

1. Common or hard Corns may be pared with a sharp knife,, 
and will get well of themselves if subjected to no further irri¬ 
tation. 

2. Or, after paring them, apply with a hair pencil or feather 
the following: 


Tinct. Iodine. 4 drachms. 

Ferri Iodium. 12 grains. 

Chloride of Antimony. 4 drachms. 


Mix together. Two or three applications will be sufficient to loosen the 
corn so it can be removed with any sharp pointed instrument. 

3. A saturated solution of Salt of Tartar of Pearlash, obtained 
by exposing the article in a jar or wide-mouthed bottle in a damp 
place, until it forms an oil-like liquid, may be applied in the 
same way as the above. 

4. The Adhesive Corn Plaster, being a soft, round plaster with 
a small hole in the centre, is an alleviant and curative applica¬ 
tion for Corns of any description. 

5. Cotton saturated with Turpentine or Tincture of Arnica, 
applied to the part, will afford relief. 





THE FEET. 


253 


6. Take a lemon, cut off a piece, then nick it’ so as to let in 
the toe with the Corn, the pulp next the Corn—tie this on at 
night, so that it cannot move. In the morning, by using a 
blunt knife, the Corn will come away to a great extent. Two 
or three applications of this will be effective. 

Soft Corns. —Soft Corns come between the toes by reason of 
the confinement, heat, perspiration, and want of proper cleansing. 

1. Wash the part every day and weave a strip of soft cloth or 
soft sheep or chamois skin between the toes. 

2. Dip a piece of linen cloth in Turpentine and wrap round the 
toe on which the Corn is situated, night and morning. The 
relief will be almost immediate, and in a few days the Corn will 
disappear. 

Bunion. —This is a hard and painful swelling that sometimes 
appears on the joint of the great toe. Wear the shoes loose, and 
prepare a plaster composed of— 


3$. Extract of Stramonium.4 drachms. 

Glycerine. 2 drachms. 

Cadmii Sulph. 1 drachm. 


Mix, rub together, and apply to the joint in the form of a plaster every 
night. If there is inflammation, soak the foot in warm water frequently, 
and keep it raised resting on a chair or foot-rest when practicable. A bit 
of leather with a hole cut in it may be worn to prevent pressure upon the 
Bunion, or the shoe so made as to give plenty of room. Avoid wearing 
narrow-toed shoes after the Bunion has disappeared. 

Chilblain. —This is a low form of inflammation of the skin 
caused by sudden changes of temperature, as placing the feet 
near the fire when they are very cold. The symptoms are itch¬ 
ing and occasional pain, with some irregular purply redness of 
the skin, and slight swelling. This is the first stage. In the 
second stage the skin becomes darker in color and a vesicle or 
blister appears. In the third stage the vesicle has broken and 
an indolent ulcer remains. 

The treatment in the first stage is to make a wash as fol¬ 
lows : 


B- Acetic Acid.1 ounce - 

Distilled Water. 5 ounces. 

Table Salt. 5 drachms. 


Mix together and apply to the parts as a wash night and morning. 








254 


APPENDIX TO” PART FIRST. 


In the second stage care must be taken to not break the blister, 
and for that purpose the wash must only be painted on with a 
camel hair brush. 

In the third stage the ulcer should be dressed with the follow¬ 


ing ointment: 

]$. Sweet Oil. 1 ounce. 

Yellow Wax. 1 ounce. 

Paraphine. 2 ounces. 

Carbolic Acid.. 1 drachm. 

Atropine Sulph. 8 grains. 


Mix all together and make an ointment. Apply to the ulcers and wrap 
with cotton batting. Warm wool clothing should be worn. A Tonic com¬ 
posed of Muriate Tincture of Iron 1 drachm, Sulphate of Quinine 30 
grains, and water 4 ounces, should be taken internally, as the disease is one 
of debility. 

White Turnip for Chilblain.— Take a White Turnip, 
wash and grate or slice thinly without paring; put what will be 
equal to a teacupful in a tin basin, add 3 tablespoonfuls fresh 
lard, and simmer slowly (though not to a cooking heat) for 2 
hours. Spread cold upon a soft cloth and apply at night. 

Chilblain Liniment.— Mix together 1 fluid ounce rectified 
Oil of Turpentine, 15 drops Sulphuric Acid, and 2 ounces Olive 
Oil. This, rubbed gently on the Chilblains twice a day, is gen¬ 
erally very effective. 

Petroleum for Chilblains.— Nothing appears of such 
uniform utility for allaying the inflammatory irritation, as the 
ordinary Petroleum or kerosene oil. 

To Cure Chilblains.— The fluid concentrated Chloride of 
Iron is said to be an unfailing remedy for Chilblains, its applica¬ 
tion to them for a single day effecting a cure. It may also be 
used with advantage for frost-bites. 

Ingrowing Toe-Nail.— To make the nail grow in, wear 
narrow-toed shoes. When you find it growing in, wear broad 
shoes, and cut the front of the nail concave, or hollowing in. 
In the early stages this may be all the remedy needed. 

To Remove the Ingrowing Nail.— The nail may be 
removed by deadening it with Nitrate of Silver. For this pur¬ 
pose soak the part in warm water, and wipe dry ; take a bit of 
cotton batting and gently press it under the ingrowing edge and 







THE FEET. 


255 


into the groove between the flesh and nail; then wet the end 
of a piece of Nitrate of Silver and rub it well over the surface of 
the nail next to the cotton, but not allowing it to touch the 
flesh; put on a thin layer of cotton batting, and after 2 or 3 
hours a poultice round the toe. In 2 or 3 days the nail will be 
entirely loosened from the flesh where the Caustic was applied, 
and may be removed. If the nail is very thick, scrape it down 
before applying the caustic. 

A Certain Cure. —An effective remedy is to cut a bit of 
sponge in cylindrical form, say an eighth to a quarter of an inch 
in diameter, moisten it, and wind it with fine thread so as to 
compress it as small as possible, say to the size of a knitting 
needle, and let it dry 2 or 3 days. Then soak the toe in warm 
water, dry it, and take a bit of the sponge, a quarter to three- 
eighths of an inch in length, take the thread off, and introduce 
the sponge under the ingrowing part by pressing it with any 
sharp instrument; the moisture of the foot will expand the 
sponge, creating a gentle pressure that will crowd the nail up 
from the flesh, and the growth of the nail in that position will 
make the relief permanent. 

Burning Feet. —For a burning sensation of the feet, use 
the alkaline Foot Bath (see page 18), to which a pint of bran 
may be added for each gallon of water. 

Cold Feet. —For cold feet use the cold salt water Foot Bath 
for 5 or 6 minutes, wiping the feet dry and rubbing them vig¬ 
orously. Or rubbing the feet and ankles vigorously with the 
hand before going to bed, may bring the needed reaction. 

But there are two conditions that will largely prevent either 
burning feet or cold feet. The first is, to keep them clean and 
the pores open ; and the second, to avoid wearing tight boots or 
shoes so as to obstruct the circulation. 

Swelled Feet and Ankles. —Steep Arnica Flowers for 
\ an hour in hot water, spread them on a cloth, fold another 
cloth over, and wrap the part. 

Aching Feet. —Where there is aching of the feet and ankles 
from walking, pour cold water on them night and morning, and 
at noon if convenient. 


APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 


256 

Blistered Feet.— Where the feet are blistered from walking, 
take— 

1$. Burgundy Pitch. 2 ounces. 

Beeswax. i ounce. 

Lard (or SweetJOil). 1 tablespoon ful. 

Mix, melt together and strain. Spread some of the mixture on cotton 

batting and apply to the soles of the feet, or where the blisters are ; it may 
be worn while walking. 

Itching Feet from Frost-Bites.— Take Hydrochloric 

Acid 1 ounce ; rain water 7 ounces ; wash the feet with it 2 or 3 
times daily, or wet the socks with the preparation until relieved. 

Offensive Perspiration from the Feet— May be 
removed by bathing the feet every night in a solution of 1 or 2 
teaspoonfuls of Aqua Ammonia in a wash bowl of water. 

STAMMERING OR STUTTERING. 

There is good reason to believe that Stammering results from 
an attempt to speak without a sufficient supply of air in the 
lungs. This theory is borne out by observation. A person thus 
afflicted tries to speak, and can only mutter and stutter, until 
the air in the lungs becoming wholly exhausted, he is compelled 
to inhale, when enunciation becomes easy. Stammering per¬ 
sons sing without difficulty, because the exercise of singing 
requires a full inflation of the lungs. An anecdote is related of 
a farmer who had a stuttering son, and the boy ran into the 
house on a certain occasion flushed with excitement and trying 
to speak. Becoming impatient, the good farmer broke in, 
“ Sing it,” said he. “ Run, old man, your barn’s a-fire, your 
barn’s a-fire, your barn’s a-fire,” sang the boy; and the old man 
replied with a box on the ear, “ Well, run, you little cuss, 
don’t stand there singing.” 

But if we have found the secret of Stammering, the next 
problem is, how to cure it. The following course is recom¬ 
mended : Draw a long breath so as to fill the lungs with air to 
their fullest extent, and divide the sentence you wish to speak 
into syllables, beating time for each syllable by bringing the 
first finger of the right hand and thumb together. Have confi¬ 
dence in yourself, and do not be embarrassed in the presence of 
strangers. Get some good poem and read it through, always 





REMEDIES FOR DRUNKENNESS. 


257 

beating time and drawing in a full breath at the end of every 
second line, following the rule and reading aloud. You must 
also use the measured syllables in conversation at home and in 
your workshop. If you are a school-boy, in your classes, take 
care never to commence speaking without drawing a full breath. 
This rule must be followed for at least four weeks, or perhaps 
longer if an adult. Do not be ashamed of the monotony of your 
measured syllables; be convinced that your new method of 
speaking will not last long, and that in all cases it is better than 
the grimaces and painful contortions of the mouth that some 
Stammerers have to make in order to articulate certain words. 

These directions, if faithfully and energetically followed, will 
cure the worst case of Stammering, if the upper and lower 
incisive teeth are perfect, and the lips, tongue and larynx are 
not deformed. The habit cannot be broken too easily; it grows 
with the age of the individual, and gets fixed so that it is much 
easier to cure a child when he is ten years of age than when he 
is twenty-one. 

REMEDIES FOR DRUNKENNESS. 

Stimulating Tonic.— Steep together near a hot fire for 24 
hours : Quassia, in chips, 1 ounce, Cascarilla Bark and Gentian 
Root, in chips, Columbo Root, in powder, each 2 drachms; 
strain, sweeten slightly with sugar, and add a drachm and a half 
of Elixir of Vitriol. Take a tablespoonful 3 or 4 times a day. 

Composition Tea. —The Composition Powder, or Tea, 
taken in moderate draughts on rising in the morning, and before 
each meal, continued for an indefinite time, at the same time 
wholly abstaining from the use of stimulating liquors, it is said 
will supply the stimulus that the person has been accustomed to 
derive from such drinks, and gradually wean from their use. 

Peruvian Bark. —Two ounces of bruised or ground Peru¬ 
vian Bark steeped in a pint of water for a couple of hours, 
strained, and sweetened if desired, may be taken in tablespoon¬ 
ful doses 3 times a day; it is one of the most effective remedies. 

Russian Cure for Drunkenness.— The following singular 
means of curing habitual drunkenness is employed by Dr. 
Schreiber, a Russian physician: It consists in confining the 


258 


APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 


drunkard in a room, and in furnishing him at discretion with 
his favorite spirit diluted with f of water ; as much wine, beer, 
and coffee as he desires, but containing £ of spirit; all the food 
—the bread, meat, and the vegetables steeped in spirit and 
water. The poor patient is continually drunk. On the fifth 
day of this treatment he has an extreme disgust for spirit; ho 
earnestly requests other diet; but his desire must not be yielded 
to, until he no longer desires to eat or drink; he is then cer¬ 
tainly cured of his love of drink. He acquires such a disgust 
for brandy, or other spirits, that he is ready to vomit at the very 
sight of it. 

Another Cure.— The following is tonic and stimulant, and 
is said to have proved beneficial in numerous cases : 


1$. Sulphate of Iron. 5 grains. 

Peppermint Water. 11 drachms. 

Spirit of Nutmeg. 1 drachm. 


Mix, and take at a dose, repeating once or twice a day. 

BLEEDING FROM THE NOSE. 

A plug of lint, or what is better, a plug of cool green Witch 
Hazel leaves, introduced into the nostril, will usually check nose¬ 
bleed. Or wet a cloth of several folds in cold water and lay it 
on the nose, pressing it well up toward the eyes. Or make 
applications of ice to the forehead, temples, and back of the- 
neck. Or take a bit of ice or cold metal, place it well back in 
the mouth, and press it with the tongue against the roof of the- 
mouth. A pad of cloth stuffed between the upper lip and teeth 
so as to crowd the lip well up, will arrest the bleeding by com¬ 
pressing the artery. 

When the bleeding seems persistent and inclined to return, 
bathe the feet in warm water every night before going to bed' 
following it each morning by a cold stream of water poured from 
a pitcher upon the back of the head, neck, and spine, bathing 
the body daily with an alkaline or salt solution (see “ Baths and 
Bathing, page 18). Keep the bowels regular, observe regular 
habits, especially avoiding late hours, dancing, and other causes 
tending to excite an unwonted action of the blood. 

TO CHECK SNEEZING. 

Plug the nostrils with a loosely rolled lump of cotton, leaving 
it loose enough for the air to pass through, but sufficiently firm 





HEALTH MAXIMS. 


259 


so that it will not be moved by the exercise of breathing. A 
Sneeze may be checked by pressing the fingers firmly upon the 
upper lip close under the nose. 

HEALTH MAXIMS. 

Don't sleep in a draught. 

Don't go to bed with cold feet. 

Don't stand over hot air registers. 

Don't try to cool too quickly after exercising. 

Don't eat merely to save food and get your money's worth. 

Don’t sleep with insecure false teeth in your mouth. 

Don't sleep in a room without proper ventilation. 

Don't neglect constipated bowels. 

Don't use your voice much when very hoarse. 

Don't try to get along without flannel underclothing in winter. 

Don’t sleep in the same undergarment you wear during the 
day. 

Don't try to keep up on coffee and Alcohol when you ought to 
go to bed. 

Don't drink ice water rapidly; take it in sips and quite 
slowly. 

Don't bring on baldness and headaches by wearing close, warm 
head coverings. 

Don't try to lengthen your days by cutting short your night's 
rest. 

Don't ruin your eyes by reading or working by dim or flicker¬ 
ing light. 

Don't experiment with drugs because you fancy yourself ill. 

Don't hope to cure dyspepsia by using pastry and rich fruit 
cake. 

Don't neglect to keep the feet warm, the head cool, and the 
bowels open, in order to promote health. 












1 


PART II. 


DIVISION I— Domestic Economy and the House¬ 
hold. 

DIVISION II— Productive Industry and Traffic. 


DIVISION III— Society and the World at Large. 


PART II—DIVISION I. 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


THE HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

In merely material points of view, the associations connected 
with the name of Household are quite varied, comprehending 
■to an almost indefinite extent matters essentially practical, 
while there is also something therein that appeals to the tender- 
•est and holiest sentiments that can inspire the human heart. 
In the economic management of a home is involved that which, if 
it cannot be strictly denominated a science, is at least an 
approximation thereto in real importance. It is the purpose in 
this department of the work, to throw all possible light upon this 
important point. But, above everything else in its far-reaching 
importance, we desire to impress upon the reader the value of 
the art of making home attractive . This is usually a question, 
•at least in part, of financial ability; yet much can be done under 
almost all circumstances. Around the family hearth cluster the 
fondest and most endearing remembrances, and truly blessed is 
that family whose happiness is marred by nought calculated to 
detract from the beauty and symmetry of the ideal picture. 
Disappointments and afflictions may come; such superventions 
are indeed according to the very nature of things ; but this should 
be the only dark side, and those composing the home circle should 
early be taught to love one another, and seek to promote each 
other’s happiness. The sentiment should be made to grow with 
their growth, and strengthen with their strength, thereby becom¬ 
ing so firmly implanted that the result will be assured. To add 



264 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

to the effect of this “ picture of memory,” no available means 
should be spared to render home attractive in other ways. The 
possession of any considerable degree of taste and skill will 
always render this practicable to a greater or less extent. 

“Go east, go west, 

Home is the best.’* 

“ Home, Sweet Home,” should be the happiest and most com¬ 
fortable spot in the world, shutting in a perpetual atmosphere 
of peace and happiness, shutting out every breath of weariness 
and discord from its sacred walls ; a place where it is good to be ; 
where all the little jarring, vexing cares of every-day life are 
dropped on the threshold, and the perplexing worries of busi¬ 
ness are soothed away by the attentions of a loving and sympa¬ 
thetic family; where there are cheerfulness and rest in every 
room, and the genial glow of love on the well-kept hearth; 
where hospitality has a permanent abode. Husband and wife 
should co-operate to make up all the essentials of such a home, 
each one giving largely of his or her best gifts, and feeling that 
no talent is too great, no accomplishments too fine, for use in 
fitting up that family shrine. That child is indeed to be pitied 
who has never known the sweet endearments, the blessed influ¬ 
ences of a true home—who has not been nurtured by day on 
its sustaining bosom, and cradled by night in its beneficient 
arms. 

Comfort and elegance in dress, table service, furniture, equi¬ 
pages, all the surroundings of our lives—these are good and 
desirable when they do not involve the sacrifice of anything more 
important; but it is well to remember that they are not the 
chief objects of life, nor the sole end for the attainment of which 
homes are ordained. 

If we do not desire for our children higher aims than these— 
if we do not assume for them more important responsibilities— 
we are promoting that dangerous tendency towards an exagger¬ 
ated respect for wealth, and a corresponding depreciation of 
character, which is the growing peril of our nation and time. 

Build, then, the home on no mere sordid basis of money value 
alone, but make it a hall of education, a school-room of knowl¬ 
edge, the alma mater of a happy and prosperous youth, into 
whose minds have been poured a glowing patriotism, and in 


THE HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 


265 


■whose bosoms burn principles of justice, truth and integrity, 
and who place the moderate enjoyment of home pleasures far 
above the demoralizing influences of wealth and idleness. 

FROM GARRET TO CELLAR. 

Do not all of us recall homes we have had or seen, where the 
garret was as picturesque as if designed for ornament, and the 
cellar the very picture of frugal comfort, with its vegetable 
department, apple bins, closet for pickles and preserves, and 
ceiling hung with hams and bacon, and shelves freighted with 
milk and cream. The floor was as clean as if newly swept and 
scrubbed ; every corner was dry and tidy ; there was no smell of 
decaying vegetables or unwholesome dirt; the hand of the mis¬ 
tress had hunted out every cobweb, and the spirit of cleanliness 
invaded every corner. 

It would be easy to determine what the intermediate state 
between the roof and the cellar represented : Clean, bright, 
sunshiny, with birds, flowers, music, and merriment in every 
room, and presiding over all, a sweet-faced woman. You know 
instinctively that she is wife and mother—that she has children 
with her who bask in the sunshine of her presence ; that she is. 
the commanding general of the regiment quartered here, and 
that her soldiers love and obey her. How many enemies she' 
daily fights and puts to rout unaided and alone, they will never 
know. She is one of the silent workers, the ununiformed 
conquerers of domestic life. 

Make home happy! Not in a weak, incomplete way, with 
hastily performed duties and fluctuating zeal, but have laws 
which must be enforced and obeyed. Men and women who 
would make homes, must have executive power of the first 
order. 


SLEEPING APARTMENTS AND BEDS. 

Some suggestions on the subject of Sleeping Apartments will 
be found under the title, “How to Sleep,” page 15, under the 
head “ Precautions against Ague,” page 62, and in treating of 
the “ Sick Room,” page 156, in Part I of this work. 

Every thing about the sleeping apartments should be scrupu¬ 
lously clean. Let all soiled clothes be kept in a hamper in an 

17 


266 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

unused room, and have tight covers to all slop jars. Be very 
particular about ventilation, and if there is a fire in the room 
regulate it by a thermometer. During sleeping hours the mer¬ 
cury should not rise above 55°. If a light is kept burning, 
allowance must be made for the consequent exhaustion of oxygen. 

People of wealth can afford to have winter and summer fur¬ 
nishing for their bedrooms, but the great majority must furnish 
for the year throughout, and cannot have frequent changes, so 
that it is best to select what will be of the greatest service for 
regular use. Besides, it takes away the charm of home to be 
always making changes, and buying new furniture. There are 
houses where the same carpets and furnishings are used to-day 
that the family began housekeeping with forty-five years ago, 
and they are in good condition too, and are more valuable to the 
family than any modern furniture would be. Each article has 
been magnetized with the vital principle of home. 

A Good Bed is essential to refreshing sleep. A well- 
made bed is a luxury to weary limbs; but if there are knots and 
lumps in it the sleeper will arise unrefreshed and nervous, and 
perhaps with no idea of the cause. There is about one woman in 
a hundred who knows how to make a bed properly. The cham¬ 
bermaids of many so-called first class hotels have an execrable 
way of so placing the sheets that they are six inches or more too 
, short at the foot. To make a bed properly there must be, in the 
first place, a good bed; next, to make it enjoyable, the bed 
linen must be clean and well ironed, and the bedding sweet. 
'The bedrooms should be well aired every morning, the bed 
clothes thrown over a chair, and the mattress exposed for an 
hour or two. If there are dark bedrooms it might not be entirely 
hospitable to keep them for guests, but leave them unused until 
the guests come, when members of the family may occupy them 
temporarily. 

Comfort should be consulted, rather than style. It is better 
if the head of the bed be slightly sloped upward than to multi¬ 
ply pillows and bolsters. Moderately hard pillows are now gen¬ 
erally preferred to softer ones, and these are sometimes made of 
other material than feathers. Pillow shams, in their starched 
uselessness, are suggestive only of the thought that they are 
placed to cover up dirty pillow cases. A good clean bed, made 


THE HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 267 

up so as to be smooth and even and free from lumps, invites 
naturally to repose. 

KEEP THE WINDOWS CLEAR. 

The fashion of long swathing curtains has gone out, and a 
short window lambrequin is now in favor. There is a habit peo¬ 
ple have of hanging transparencies and other useless things in 
the windows of bedrooms, or filling up the panes with flowers. 
The pure sunlight cannot get in, and the human plants wither 
in consequence. Select your carpets with colors that will not 
fade, and let the health-giving sunlight in during a greater part 
-of the day. In districts where malaria is frequent, the sun will 
be found a potent factor in counteracting its poison. 

THE LINEN CLOSET. 

This should be of Cedar, with separate shelves and drawers 
for blankets, pillows, quilts, towels, etc. One drawer should 
contain pillow slips and sheets alone. These should be neatly 
ironed and folded in a uniform manner, and well aired before 
they are put away, and again previous to use, as they may possi¬ 
bly contract damp in the closet, and it is best to err on the safe 
side. All the house linen should be carefully marked with the 
family initials. 

THE PAELOR. 

The parlor of a dwelling should be furnished consistently with 
other parts of the house, and not with a degree of splendor or 
show that will form a violent contrast. Large, showy parlors 
belong to a large, showy establishment, where brilliant effects are 
desired, and many entertainments given. These rooms should 
be furnished for gas-light display, and the colors such as will give 
the best harmony. A parlor is not a museum. 

A mantel piece of dark colored wood is now more popular than 
the marbles which have been in use so many years. Marble- 
topped tables are also out of date, but let those who have them 
keep them, as no doubt they will come in again. The present 
table for parlor use is carved mahogany or cherry, with such 
covering as the taste may suggest. 

It is not always the most costly rooms that are the most 
attractive. A cosy little parlor with a pretty carpet, a comfortable 


268 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

sofa, a few bright pictures, an easy chair, and a table with books 
and magazines on it, is often a charming embodiment of the 
word Home, and the Arabic motto, “ Give me not riches, but 
repose,” seems to be emblazoned on its peaceful walls. It is a 
matter of individual taste and culture, and not the result only 
of hard cash. 

A fernery or aquarium is an ornament to a home and a means 
of education to the children. Birds, cats and dogs—the latter 
especially—should belong to every family. Much is to be learned 
by a close observation of the humble companions, each one of 
which is a wonderful study of natural history. The home that 
is too fine for a cat or dog is too fine for a child, though in largo- 
towns a dog to every family would be more than is needed. 

Open fire-places, a revival of the past, are more elegant 
and homelike than close stoves, which they are superseding. 
They are now located in halls as well as parlors and bedrooms. 
They are great helps to social comfort, the warm flame of the 
red coals lighting up the room with a cheerful glow that drives 
away all gloomy thoughts. They are a hospitable welcome to 
the stranger beneath the roof, and afford a place where children's 
feet can be comfortably toasted before they go to bed. They 
have a thousand good reasons to recommend their general use. 

THE LIBRARY. 

When a home is small the library and the dining room can be 
very satisfactorily combined, and any discussions which might 
arise at meal time concerning literary matters could at once be 
referred to the books. The library, if separate, need not be an 
ornamental room, but it should have good facilities for light, 
and the books must be arranged in the most careful and conve¬ 
nient form for reference. A few comfortable leather chairs, a 
student's lamp, one or two busts of favorite authors, a dark green 
or red carpet, or one uniform with the halls, and a low tiled 
fireplace, and the room is complete. It is a rendezvous for the* 
student or reader, rather than for the lounger. 

THE SITTING-ROOM. 

This is really the heart of the house; here is the presiding 
genius of the house, the wife and mother; the children are 


THE HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 


269 


attracted to it by her presence. The clock, the work-basket, 
the newspaper, all make a general headquarters of the family 
sitting-room. It is comfortably old and worn, and fits the 
wearied soul, as the typical “old shoe" does the tired foot. 
There is a closet for hats and coats, and left-off aprons and 
piece-bags, and sometimes for preserves and jams. It is the 
homeliest room in the house, and yet the happiest. If possible, 
have a western window, so that the glory of the sunset shall be 
gathered in with the night. An old-fashioned rocker, a low 
sewing-chair, the work-table and sewing machine, form the staple 
part of the furniture of this room, and a lounge upon which 
tired workers can throw themselves for a moment’s rest. A sing¬ 
ing bird in a cage at the window will not obscure the light, and 
its cheerful notes are often a welcome melody. Home-made 
rugs and lambrequins can be made at a trifling expense to add to 
the comfort and appearance of this room. 

THE DINING-ROOM. 

There should be as little furniture as possible in the dining¬ 
room. A black walnut extension table is almost indispensable * 
so is a sideboard. With these two articles, and a set of leather- 
seated chairs and a plain, strong carpet, the room is furnished. 
For decoration, a dado of water-fowl and rushes, and a few fruit 
and game pieces on the dark walls. The dessert set for dinner 
is arranged on the sideboard with the fruit and glassware. Above 
the sideboard, or over one of the doors, a motto is often painted, 
“Eat, drink, and be merry;" or the well-known lines from 
Shakespeare : 

“ Now let digestion wait on appetite, 

And health onjboth.” 

When the table is set with floral pieces, and a handsome 
arrangement of napkins and glasses at every plate, the effect of 
the dining-room should be a symmetrical and harmonious sym¬ 
posium of color relieved by the crystal of glasses and the white¬ 
ness of the table napery. 


HOSPITALITY. 

The most elegant service in the world is void of light and 
color if that virtue of the Arab, hospitality, be wanting. A 
drink given grudgingly from a silver flagon is of less value than 


270 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

the cup of cold water with a welcome. It is the salt at the feast. 
That table is a model of culture at which a guest is always 
expected, always made at home ; where the moderate, comfort¬ 
able, every-day table offers greater inducements to the hungry 
visitor than the more elaborate company spread. Much is 
required besides decorated china to ensure the success of a meal. 
Often the ease and grace of a hostess, or the genial table-talk of 
a host, will brighten up dull viands and make very ordinary ware 
vessels of Jionor. “ Small cheer and great welcome make a merry 
feast," sang the Bard of Avon; and the savages themselves have 
won admiration from their civilized neighbors for the practice of 
this virtue. 

READING IN THE FAMILY. 

Parents are apt to make a mistake in excluding from the fam¬ 
ily library all such books as they do not themselves understand 
or appreciate, unless they have kept up with the spirit of the 
times. A hundred years ago “Eveliner" and “Cecilria" were 
the only popular novels. No one reads them now except those 
who wish to form an estimate of English literature. Fifty years 
ago “The Children of the Abbey," the “Vicar of Wakefield," 
“ Charlotte Temple," “ Paul and Virginia," and a few similar 
novels, were the leading works of fiction. To-day they are 
totally unsuited to the requirements of youthful readers, and 
while they should be included in every library they cannot be 
regarded as literary models at the present day. Current litera¬ 
ture should be a means of education in the family, always taking 
care to choose the best—history, travels, poetry and fiction, of 
the best quality, and in small quantity. While the modern 
authors are to be read, it is by no means desirable to remain 
ignorant of the older literature. Cowper, Wordsworth, Byron— 
all the English poets—must be intelligently read as standards of 
excellence, in common with Tennyson, Longfellow, and others 
of the present time ; and in history, Goldsmith, Macauley, Gib¬ 
bon and others, with Bancroft and Irving, and J. S. C. Abbot’s 
“ Lives." A volume of Shakespeare is in itself a library. It is 
in childhood that a taste for good reading must be formed, and 
weak, sentimental, trashy books should be kept out of the reach 
of children. Give them “Robinson Crusoe" and the “ Arabian 


THE HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 271 

Nights ; " they are good fairy tales, but do not sugar them into 
insipidity with the goody-goody style of impossible morality. 
There are many good books of travel and story now written, 
especially for children, which are instructive and strong and 
well calculated for forming a good moral standard. Young people 
who have no love for reading, will often get their learning as 
some people do their furniture, at second hand. They will not 
take the trouble to read a book themselves, but will get an intel¬ 
ligent idea of it from hearing it talked about. 

GAMES IN THE HOME. 

These are necessary to keep the young people contented dur¬ 
ing the long winter evenings. Cards are now almost universal, 
the old prejudice against them having died out on the showing 
that gamblers and profligates seldom learned to play at home, but 
in vicious company. Many a boy who has stolen from his home 
for a secret game of cards on the hay-mow would never have 
done so could he have had the freedom of playing at his own 
fireside. That mother is a wise woman who bids her young son 
bring his playmates to his home and allows him to play games 
under her own eye. Many a mother who has refused to let her 
young son touch a card, now sits alone and asks, “ Where is mj 
boy to-night ? 99 There is no surer way to keep him at home 
than that of letting him have all innocent amusements. 

DANCING. 

As a means of grace in motion, dancing is one of the best 
instructions we can possibly have. As a moral amusement it is 
infinitely preferable lo the old-time kissing games. Small social 
parties, at which dancing is permitted, are always refined and 
pleasant. There may be just prejudices against the promiscuous 
attendance at public balls, but the dancing at such places is no 
more harmful than the other associations. There is no prettier 
picture in the world than that of little children dancing around 
the may-pole, or mixing with their elders in a Virginia reel or 
prairie queen quadrille. 

But—moral: There must be a wise limit to all the enjoyments 
of life, however innocent they may be. There is harm in any 
excess—even in drinking too much cold water. 


272 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


FLOWERS. 

Every family should have a garden in the summer and a win¬ 
dow for green plants in the winter unless the climate is that of 
summer all the year round, when they can always have out-of- 
door bloom. Roses will grow any where—then by all means 
have roses. Vines are pretty and ornamental trained over gate¬ 
ways and latticed walls. Mignonette, Southernwood, Pinks and 
Euschias, can be grown in the most sterile soil. It adds greatly 
to the comfort and refinement of a family to have a flower- 
garden. In localities where there are long autumns, Poppies, 
Dahlias, China Asters and other brilliant and familiar flowers 
make a gorgeous display until after the frost comes. Pansies 
and Violets, Balsams, G-ladiolas, Tube Roses, G-eraniums and 
Verbenas, are common favorite flowers easily raised in warm 
climates, and in all climates during the summer months. Climb¬ 
ing Roses add much beauty to the exterior of a house. Double 
variegated Hollyhocks, Nasturtions, and other simple garden 
flowers, with foliage plants and green vines, make pretty deco¬ 
rations for the house after they are cut. Sweet Peas, Portulaca, 
and even the homely Sunflower, will make a door-yard beautiful. 
There is an almost endless variety of the Verbena. It is easy to 
learn what flowers grow best on your native soil, and to cultivate 
these, placing them in succession so that there will be beds of 
bloom all through the summer months, or the year round in the 
milder latitudes. Gravelled walks, flower beds with shell-borders, 
or edges of Carnations or other flowers, and beds of foliage 
plants, will make an attractive exterior to any home. 

PLANTS IN THE HOUSE. 

The usual method of raising plants in the house is to pot them 
from the garden or propagate by slips. Some housekeepers who 
have never read a work on floriculture have excellent judgment 
about raising house plants, and always have a mass of bloom in 
their windows without ever appearing to do anything to produce 
it. The secret is to keep just the right temperature, to water 
often enough and not too often, and to understand the nature 
and habits of the plants themselves. They dislike to be meddled 
with; they need air and sunshine; they need to breathe, and 
in order to do this their leaves must be kept free from dust. 


THE HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 


273 


They need renewed soil when they have exhausted that in which 
they are potted. They need to be examined with a microscope 
for worms and invisible pests of the same color as the leaf they 
destroy. The best remedy for these parasites is to muffle the 
plants and throw upon them a flood of tobacco smoke blown 
from a pipe. For this purpose they may be enveloped in drapery 
or placed in a small closet to confine the smoke. 

A plant stand may be made of either wire or wood. It is 
desirable that it should have castors, so that it can be moved 
•easily. The regulation flower stand, in a succession of circular 
steps, is rather a stiff looking affair, but the plants can be so 
arranged upon it as to have the full benefit of the sun. Very 
often flowers bloom with great beauty that are kept on a small 
.stand and moved about in the most favorable positions. The 
end of a hall is the best place for flowers if the window has a 
.southern exposure. 

The best fertilizer which can be applied to house plants is that 
afforded by the teapot. The cold tea grounds which the Irish 
throw on the hearth as an offering to the Lares, if poured as a 
libation to these household fairies, will produce a miracle of 
beauty and perfume. 

Now that plants can be sent by mail to any part of the coun¬ 
try, it is not worth while to go to great trouble to raise them 
from seed. An intelligent florist will make good selections if 
you write and tell him simply whether it is house plants or 
garden plants you want. 

A window-box filled with plants can be made the medium of 
a great deal of pleasure to those who live in cities and have no 
garden room. A fernery can also be prepared and filled with wild 
ferns, mosses, grasses and evergreens. 

Soot Water for Roses, —Put the soot obtained from the 
pipe or chimney of a wood fire, into a pitcher, and pour hot 
water upon it. When cool use the liquid occasionally to water 
the rose plants. Its effects are extraordinary in strengthening 
the growth of the plants and flowers. 

To Keep Cut Flowers. —A little Saltpetre or Carbonate 
-of Soda mixed with the water in which flowers are placed will 
keep them fresh for two weeks. 



274 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


CANARIES AND OTHER BIRDS. 

The music of a singing bird in the family is both pleasurable 
and refining, and the enjoyment of possessing one is somewhat 
incompatible with a sense of justice in depriving it of its liberty. 
It may be argued in favor of the apparent cruelty that the little 
songster of the cage is usually born in a state of bondage, and 
is consequently less to be pitied than the captive taken from the 
forest. Canaries, to be healthy and in good plumage, must be kept 
scrupulously clean. For this purpose the cage should be strewed 
every morning with clean sand or fine gravel, for the element of 
lime which they contain is absolutely necessary to life and health 
in cage birds. Fresh water must be given every day, both for 
drinking and bathing purposes, and during the moulting season 
a small bit of iron should be put into the water for drinking. 

The food for canaries is now prepared as carefully as our own,, 
and can be had at all drug stores. The principal kinds are rape 
seed, hemp in small quantities, canary and poppy seed, and bits 
of fresh lettuce and chickweed. Hard boiled eggs are excellent 
food for them, and also occasional lumps of white sugar. 

In winter the cage should never be hung in a room without a, 
fire. They should be guarded against rats and mosquitoes. 
Some people are cruel enough to let their birds hang out hour 
after hour in a hot sun, unshielded from the glare, and leavu 
them without food or water sometimes a day at a time. The 
little creatures will repay kind care by their sweet notes. Much 
care too should be taken to give them a roomy, comfortable cage 
and a pleasant window. 

To Clean Canaries. —These pretty things are often 
covered with lice, and may be effectually relieved of them by 
placing a clean white cloth over their cage at night. In the 
morning it will be covered with small red spots, so small as 
hardly to be seen, except by the aid of a glass; these are the 
lice, a source of great annoyance to the birds. 



FAMILY SUPPLIES AND CHOICE OF FOOD. 


275 


FAMILY SUPPLIES AND CHOICE OF FOOD. 

It is not too much to ask that the housewife be prompt, 
energetic, neat, skillful, with good common sense and a good 
temper. She may not speak two languages nor be familiar with 
the classics, but she should have education enough to minister to 
the needs of her family, moral strength enough never to weary of 
her work, brain enough to comprehend that the mother's heart is 
the child's schoolroom. Her diploma may not be writ on legal 
parchment, but it will be engraved on the hearts of her children. 
The woman who, in a calico dress and white apron, makes good 
bread and tender doughnuts for her family to eat, is a better 
artist than she who paints plaques to kill time or develop taste. 

A thriftless woman can waste with a teaspoon at the back door 
all that a man can bring in with a shovel at the front door. 
Co-operative housekeeping is what makes a perfect home—the 
co-operation of all its members. 

PROVIDING FOR THE HOUSE. 

The office of furnishing the commissary stores for a family is 
by no means an idle or irresponsible one. It is unquestionably 
true, as those who have tried it know, that more comfortable 
housekeeping is the result where the meat and vegetables are 
laid in during the fall months, and flour, butter, and sugar are 
never allowed to run out. It is a bad precedent for children to 
begin early to run to the grocery and the market and bring in the 
family supplies in pound packages. It belittles the dignity of 
housekeeping, and establishes a fixed system of living from hand 
to mouth which gets people too easily into a slip-shod way. 
And it leads to confusion. Something is always out. At meal 
time sugar must be had, or the tea-caddy is empty, and some 
member of the family is hurriedly detailed to go and fill it. The 
plan of laying in supplies four times a year will be found to be 
very much better and more advantageous in the long run. 

HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Economy should be a woman's forte—not a penny-wise and 
stingy faculty, but the perfect adjustment of means to ends. It 


276 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

should be, not only because this distribution naturally falls to 
her, but because she has by nature a gift for details. Do people 
put their wisdom into housekeeping ? Do we, as a rule, order 
our household arrangements with deliberate purpose, or do we, 
by the force of habit, submit to being dragged along from day to 
day, seeking to satisfy the daily demands, but without regard to 
any very comprehensive plan ? An hour's serious consideration 
of so homely a subject as the uses of money, with last year's 
expense-book beside her, and pencil and note-book in hand, 
would perhaps suggest to almost every housewife some portion 
of her economy in which she might turn over a new leaf. If she 
has not a well-kept account-book to refer to, that is the first 
leaf to turn over. 


SELECTION OF MEATS. 

Among the first class of commodities to be thought of in con¬ 
nection with the kitchen and the table, is meats. People who 
live in cities have a wide range of choice, but they need not feel 
vain and boast over their country cousins by reason thereof, 
because those who live in the country and have a more limited 
catalogue to choose from can be reasonably certain that what 
they use is wholesome and pure. In cities there are so many 
ways in which impure meats may be sold that it sometimes seems 
the better way is to go it blind and think nothing about it. Yet 
the prudent purchaser will make his selections from butchers of 
the best reputation. Cattle shipped by railways frequently get 
down and are trampled upon, and either killed or so badly injured 
that it becomes necessary to remove and kill them at the first 
stopping place, and it is too much to suppose that their flesh 
does not frequently find its way into the market stalls. And the 
same is true of other animals similarly carried. Carrying meats 
in refrigerator cars is an improvement for many reasons, but yet 
the consumer cannot know the condition of the animal when 
killed. The farmer who slaughters his own animals has the 
advantage of the man of the city in this respect. 

It is probably true that the people both in town and country 
consume more animal food than is good for them, especially 
during the summer season. The two facts that men require less 
of the stimulating properties of animal food in summer than in 


FAMILY SUPPLIES AND CHOICE OF FOOD. 


277 


winter, and that the inconvenience of slaughtering and preserv¬ 
ing it is much greater, seem to leave the logical inference that 
the consumption during warm weather should be much less. 

Among other considerations that should govern or influence 
the use of animal food, is that of season. The flesh of most 
domestic animals is certainly harder, richer and sweeter in cold 
than in warm weather. So that as a rule, it is believed that ani¬ 
mals should be slaughtered but sparingly during the summer, 
and that preserved meats, cured during the fall and winter, 
should form a considerable proportion of the meat consumption 
in warm weather. Besides, animals are liable during hot weather 
to conditions of heat not far removed from the germs of fever, 
in which state their flesh should be avoided. This applies more 
especially to cattle and hogs. Sheep, from the hardness of the 
flesh, would seem to furnish a natural summer meat, and yet 
there is more than half the year when it is not entirely safe to 
buy mutton at the markets. Ewes are not good as food if 
slaughtered when in heat, and this occurs largely in October and 
November. When they are yeaning, say in February, March 
and April, and there is trouble with the lambs coming away, the 
mothers are sometimes slaughtered, dressed, and sold as mutton, 
when their value would otherwise be lost. And again, sheep 
are afflicted with a mild type of fever for four or five weeks after 
shearing. Add to this the ordinary diseases to which they are 
subject, and mutton during a considerable part of the time may 
be taken with a percentage of discount. Calves are more espe¬ 
cially a spring and summer product, and so far as veal is a desir¬ 
able article of diet it would seem to be in season at that time. 
Poultry is best in cold weather, and among the Romans the hunter 
with his bow and a string of birds was the sign for October, indi¬ 
cating that as the beginning of the season for fowl consumption. 

Among all the animals in the food catalogue, probably the 
swine is the best abused of any. He is denounced as the embod¬ 
iment of all uncleanness, and as carrying under his bristles the 
seeds of a whole cluster of diseases, tuberculous, scorbutic, scrof¬ 
ulous and cancerous. Even those who have never been able to 
discover any good thing in the average Hebrew, have cited as 
negative testimony to his credit the fact that he is the historic 
enemy of the hog. To all this abuse the porker has replied only 


278 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

by a grunt, and by continuing to supply his abusers with tender¬ 
loins, steaks, spare-ribs, lard, bacon, bristles, sausages and souse. 
If the hog was a scientist, he might reply to his accusers that 
if they occasionally find trichinosis under his skin, they can, if 
they will turn within the microscope which they level at him so 
unmercifully, find equally horrid animals within themselves, and 
in the water that they drink. But the much-abused animal is 
content with the situation, and if well fed, will await with com¬ 
placency the hour in which he must adorn the gambril of some 
thrifty farmer, or perform the dead march up the gangway of 
some huge packing house to the chorus of a thousand squealers. 
Having suffered so much abuse, it seems but fair that the hog 
should have a word or two said in his favor. The objections 
that are urged against the use of pork as food may exist to a lim¬ 
ited extent, but the dangers are no more than environ us at every 
step we take in the journey of life, and which if we stopped to 
consider of them we would fear to move at all, and sit down and 
shudder with terror and die of apprehension. Pork has its 
place in commerce and in the domestic economy of the people. 
There are some climates and some conditions in which it is not 
only good but almost indispensable. There are other conditions in 
which it is not demanded and not much used. A writer on the 
subject, after rehearsing all the stock objections to its use, reaches 
this sage conclusion : “It proves wholesome only to those with 
whom it agrees.” And he might with entire safety have said the 
same of horse-nails and chestnut burs, or of milk and honey. 
Pork, from the amount of fat that it contains and its stimulat¬ 
ing nature, seems more adapted to the northern latitudes, yet it 
should be remembered that it is produced abundantly in the 
Southern States, and that the confederate soldiers in the late 
war made a very stubborn fight on a diet of bacon and corn 
dodgers. Cured pork it is believed is preferable to fresh for 
human food. 

FOOD IN SEASON. 

The following schedule will be a guide in the choice of food 
for each month of the year : 

January. —Lamb, mutton, beef, pork, venison. 

Partridges, hares, rabbits, woodcock, snipe, grouse, wild fowl, 
turkeys, fowls, tame pigeons. 


FAMILY SUPPLIES AND CHOICE OF FOOD. 279 

Carp, perch, eels, haddocks, herrings, pike, flounders, cod, 
sturgeons, lobsters, crabs, oysters. 

Cabbages, cole worts, sprouts, onions, beets, spinach, celery, 
garlic, potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots, mustard, rape„ and 
most kinds of herbs. 

Apples, pears, grapes, oranges, bananas. 

February and March. —Meat, fowls, game, as in January, 
fish as in December and January. 

Vegetables, etc., the same as January. 

April, May and June.— Beef, mutton, veal, lamb. 

Fowls, ducklings, young geese, pigeons, rabbits, hares. 

Soles, eels, trout, lobsters, salmon, herrings, mackerel, crabs, 
flounders, perch, shad, pike. 

Early potatoes, peas, radishes, butter beans, carrots, turnips, 
spinach, celery, cucumbers, onions, early cabbages, cauliflowers, 
asparagus, artichokes, all kinds of salads. 

Strawberries, raspberries, cherries, rhubarb, melons, apricots, 
currants, gooseberries, peaches, pineapples, oranges, bananas. 

July, August and September.— Beef, mutton, yeal, lamb, 
venison. 

Chickens, rabbits, pigeons, geese, woodcock, young turkey. 

Salmon trout, cod, haddock, flounders, pike, carp, herring, 
cels, shell fish (except oysters), mackerel, salmon. 

Beans, peas, French beans, potatoes, cauliflowers, mush¬ 
rooms. 

Fruit in July.— Strawberries, gooseberries, pineapples, 
plums, cherries, apricots, raspberries, currants, melons. 

Fruit in August and September.— Peaches, plums, figs, 
filberts, mulberries, cherries, apples, pears, grapes; the latter 
month, prunes, melons, quinces, cherries, plums. 

October. —Meat as in last month with the addition of 
vension and pork. 

Domestic fowls as in last quarter, pheasants, partridges, hares, 
wild ducks, teal, snipes, grouse. 

Pike, perch, halibut, carp, salmon, trout, cod, shell fish. 

Vegetables, as in January, last crop of beans, French beans, etc. 

Peaches, pears, figs, grapes, apples, plums, nuts, quinces. 

November. —Beef, mutton, veal, pork, lamb, venison. 

Poultry, teal, pigeons ; fish and game as last month. 


280 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


All kinds of seasonable vegetables. 

Pears, apples, nuts, grapes. 

December. —Beef, mutton, veal, lamb, pork, venison. 

Chickens, geese, turkeys, pigeons, rabbits, hares, snipes, wood¬ 
cocks, pheasants, partridges, sea-fowls, guinea fowls, wild fowls, 
ducks, grouse. 

Cod, halibut, sturgeon, carp, pike, perch, codlings, eels, shell 
fish. 

Vegetables and fruit as in November. 

PROPERTIES OF FOOD. 

THE PRINCIPAL FLESH-FORMING ARTICLES OF FOOD. 


ANIMAL. 

VEGETABLE. 

Lean Meat, 

Flesh-Forming Materials Largely in— 

Fish, 

Peas, 

Flo ur, ] Made 

Poultiy, 

Beans, 

Macaroni, ^ from 

Skim Milk, 

Lentils, 

Semolino, j Wheat. 

Cheese, 

Oatmeal. 

Rye, 

White of Egg. 

Barley, 

Corn. 


THE PRINCIPAL WARMTH-GIVING ARTICLES. . 



FATS. 


STARCH. 

SUGAR. 

Cream, 

Suet, 

Found in— 

Found in— 

Butter, 

Dripping, 

Flour, 

Rice, 

Sugar Cane, 

Oil, 

Lard. 

Potatoes, 

Semolino, 

Beetroot, 

Yolk of Egg. 

Arrowroot, 

Corn-flour, 

Tapioca, 

And most Garden 
[Vegetables. 

Honey, 

Fruit, 

Milk. 


NUTRITIVE PROPERTIES OF FOOD. 



How 

Percent of 

Articles. 

prepared. 

nutriment. 

Oils. 



Peas. 



Barley. 


.92 

Corn bread. 



"Wheat bread... 



Rice. 



Beans. 

.Boiled ... 

.87 

Rye bread. 



Oat meal. 


.74 

Mutton. 


.30 

Plums. 



Grapes . 





How 

Percent of 

Articles. 

prepared. 

nutriment. 

Beef. 


. 26 

Poultry. 


..26 

Pork. 



Veal. 


.. 24 

Venison. 


.22 

Codfish. 


..21 

Eggs. 


.13 



.7 

Turnips.. 



Melons. 


.2 

Cucumbers.... 


. a 









































































(tf 




W/z&w 


The Family Meal 












































DAILY MEALS AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 


281 


DAILY MEALS AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 

In what is termed fashionable life, and in city life where peo¬ 
ple live so entirely at ease that they can govern their habits and 
regimen at pleasure, it may be well to give prescribed bills of 
fare and regular courses for meals. But this would be wholly 
useless for the great mass of readers whom this work is expected 
to reach. Engaged in the active business of life, in extending 
civilization and in subduing the native forests and wilds, the 
mass of the people have little time or money to squander in 
fancy living or fancy dishes. The more common dishes suited 
to the several meals of the day are named following, as sugges¬ 
tive only, to be selected, when in season, according to the con- 
venience and taste of families. 

BREAKFAST. 

The arrangements for breakfast should, as far as practicable,, 
be attended to the night before; the table should be partly laid, 
the different articles of food prepared, the fire ready to light, and 
all in readiness to the hand of the mistress or servant who has it- 
in charge. 

The breakfast room should be comfortably warm. The spec¬ 
tacle of a family sitting down to breakfast in shawls and mufflers; 
is no infrequent one, but food should no more be eaten in bodily 
discomfort than when one is in a state of mental agitation. It 
is also desirable that the breakfast should be so regulated as to 
time, that the head of the family will not be compelled to go to 
his business as if he were shot out of a catapult. He should 
have time to notice his children and attend to their wants, and 
his food will be twice as satisfactory as if bolted in hot haste. 

Broiled meats, with fried or stewed potatoes, codfish balls r 
omelets, ham and eggs, brown bread, toast, and coffee, form the 
staple dishes of the morning meal, not forgetting, however, the 
oatmeal porridge on which the vigorous Scotch Highlander 
thrives, which is a cherished dish with her British majesty. 
Queen Victoria, and which has within the past few years become 
a favorite with our American sovereigns, the whole people, who 
can afford in this, at least, to copy from royalty. 

18 


282 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


DINNER. 

If it be desirable, as suggested foregoing, that breakfast be 
served on time, it is of equal or much greater moment that din¬ 
ner should be. The men of the house, if they have work that 
involves any considerable degree of physical exercise, have sharp 
appetites as the dinner hour approaches, and the man of business 
does not take kindly to delays by dilatory dinners. Hence 
promptness in the midday meal is of paramount importance. 

Dinners may be made simple or elaborate, according to circum¬ 
stances. Soups very commonly form the first course, followed by 
meats, one or more kinds, with vegetables, and concluding with 
dessert. The style and arrangement of a dinner must be regu¬ 
lated by the means as well as the taste of those at the head of the 
household. In many cases it is necessary to arrange for the 
luncheon, for the nursery or kitchen dinner, and for the family 
dinner. With a little forethought and planning these may be 
made to work together, and thus a good deal of expense and 
waste, where a large family is interested, may be avoided. The 
methodical and careful housekeeper will find it much pleasanter, 
and proportionally more economical, to arrange for a large fam¬ 
ily than a small one; for example, when eggs are required, the 
yolks are sometimes wanted for one dish and the whites for 
another. Then it is more profitable to buy a large joint than a 
small one. When a small joint is cooked, unless strict super¬ 
vision is exercised, there is danger of its drying up and having 
shriveled and worthless bits ; but a large joint carefully cooked 
will be juicy and succulent to the last; besides which, it may be 
served in different ways. Perfect method should be observed, 
even to putting directions for the cook in writing at times when 
they are of importance. 


SUPPER. 

Let us put in a plea for some concessions to the convenience 
•and rights of the female head of the household in respect to 
supper. If she be prompt in her breakfast and dinner, give her 
a little margin on supper. You (the men folks) have done your 
work for the day, and it will do you no harm to take a little 
time before supper to get both your minds and bodies at rest. 


DAILY MEALS AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 


283 


So if the meal is a quarter to a half hour late, don't get in a pas¬ 
sion about it, but keep cool, eat in peace, and your supper will 
taste the better and digest the more satisfactorily. 

Supper is usually made the lighter meal of the day, but every 
person should be the judge as to how much he will eat and how 
the meal shall be composed. Ordinarily, however, some cold 
meat, cold tongue, or dried beef, with biscuit or toast, tea, cake, 
<and some kind of sauce, forms the basis of the average tea or 
supper. 

A DINNER PARTY. 

As regards the various formalities of a dinner party, customs 
naturally exhibit a wide variance according to circumstances, 
and it is a patent fact that the average American, especially the 
male portion, cares less for mere style than do the representa¬ 
tives of some other nations that might be named. And in sober 
reality there are certain things that are much better than mere 
style. Of especial importance is the happy faculty of making 
guests feel at home and entirely free from needless restraint. 
The cordiality and good-fellowship exemplified in accomplishing 
this result will outweigh all the superfluities that may be spread 
upon the festive board, with cold conventionalities thrown in; 
and if the guests will reciprocate the sentiment that lends its 
inspiration to these traits, the occasion cannot be otherwise than 
n pleasant one. 

The hour for a dinner party varies so greatly, especially among 
what are termed people of fashion, that it would be idle to desig¬ 
nate any time in these pages. The number of guests also varies 
according to circumstances, but it is obviously impolitic to err on 
the side of a very large party. 

The following list, when the articles mentioned are in season, 
may be regarded as constituting a pretty good standard bill of 
fare, but of course it will be more or less varied according to cir¬ 
cumstances : Soup, boiled beef tongue, roast turkey, venison, 
hot slaw, baked Irish potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, tomatoes, 
boiled onions, celery, pickles, pickled peaches, cranberry pie, 
custard pie, fruit, coffee, ice cream. 

A TEA PARTY. 

The programme of an elegant tea party may be followed under 
fewer formalities than those observed in the case of a dinner 


284 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

party; nevertheless, much that has been said relating to the 
true esprit of the latter is also applicable to the former. Suck 
occasions are, however, almost invariably happy and cheerful 
ones, and that is the main point and the true end. 

The following articles constitute a good bill of fare varied 
according to the season as well as circumstances: Escalloped 
oysters, raw oysters, dried beef, cheese, light hot biscuit, cold 
chicken, pickles, cold tongue, canned fruit, raspberry jam,, 
bananas in cream and sugar, nuts, ice cream. 

WEDDING SUPPER. 

For a wedding supper the table is set as if for a dinner, and 
usually with an abundance of formality and display as well 
as of good things to tempt the appetite and contribute their 
due share toward making the occasion a pleasant and memorable 
one. The table is made to look as handsome as possible, with a- 
profusion of flowers and fruits. Dinner napkins should of course 
be provided. The viands are served cold, and are often of a 
costly and diversified character. The wedding cake should 
occupy the centre of the table opposite the bride. Various wines' 
are often provided. The variety and quality of the edibles may 
be gauged by the taste and means of those more immediately 
interested, but in the nature of things the entertainment should, 
when practicable, approximate completeness. In addition to- 
the viands and other articles already hinted at, there should be 
different kinds of cake, plenty of fruits, nuts, jellies, cheese,, 
relishes, etc., as well as ice cream and hot coffee. 

Toward the close of the repast, a toast is often proposed by 
some old or intimate friend of the family—“The health and 
happiness of the newly-wedded pair,” to which the bridegroom 
responds. Other toasts are sometimes proposed, such as the 
health of the bridesmaids, responded to by the “ best man,” the 
health of the parents of the bride, etc. Many are inclined to 
look upon the practice of proposing toasts and making responses- 
with disfavor, but in a country like ours, where “ stump speak¬ 
ing ” is more generally the rule than the exception, it will doubt¬ 
less continue to be observed to some extent at least. The wed¬ 
ding cake is cut by the bride. This being a task in which some 
little difficulty is involved, especially when the pake is an elabo- 


DAILY MEALS AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 285 

rate one and the “ frosting” is heavy, it is a good plan to have it 
partially cut through beforehand. A slice is put upon a plate, 
-cut into small pieces, and handed round, and each guest is 
expected to take a sample. At the conclusion of the repast the 
newly-wedded pair set out on their wedding tour. The guests 
who are not staying in the house, or who are not specially invited 
to remain, take their departure soon afterward. 

The number of guests must greatly depend upon the style of 
wedding that is to be celebrated. Casual acquaintances are sel¬ 
dom invited. Respectful consideration should be manifested 
toward the family of the bridegroom, and the magistrate or cler¬ 
gyman officiating should by all means be invited to co-operate in 
celebrating the happy event at the festive board. In order to 
prevent confusion, the seats respectively should be arranged 
before the guests are summoned to the repast 

THANKSGIVING DINNER. 

The custom of celebrating the fruitage of the year by an 
.annual festival, is an ancient and commendable one. Nor is the 
custom one on which the people from whom our society is derived, 
can claim a monopoly by letters patent. The Indians of the conti¬ 
nent have their well known “ green corn dance,” and they are 
also accustomed to celebrate the chase by some of the extravagant 
and demonstrative rites peculiar to their race. Harvest festivals 
are common among all peoples of European birth or extraction. 
“The Feast of the Ingathering” has been an European observ¬ 
ance under that or some other name as far back as history runs. 

It was reserved for the bigots of New England, under their 
church and state rule, to usurp this purely natural and wholly 
non-religious festival of the preceding ages, and with their 
characteristic aptness in appropriating what does not belong to 
them, attempt to mould it into a semi-religious observance under 
the name of “ Thanksgiving,” a word strongly suggestive of 
Yankee twang and Puritan cant. Their governors accordingly 
adopted the custom t>f appointing, by public and official procla¬ 
mation, a day in each year which is called as above; usually the 
Thursday occurring on or nearest to the twenty-fifth day of 
November, is selected. The custom has gradually extended 
Itself until the governors of most of the States, without, prob- 


286 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

ably, a thought of the gross impropriety of a purely civil mag' 
istrate assuming to appoint a religious festival, join in it. But, 
the limit of absurdity is reached when the president of the- 
United States issues his Thanksgiving proclamation, but in view" 
of the character of the men who have occupied that position 
most of the time for the past quarter of a century, it need excite 1 
no surprise. A notable instance however, in which an executive 
refused to be a party to such a monstrosity was that of Governor 
Roberts, of Texas, who declined to issue a proclamation for a 
praying bee on a well known occasion. 

The foregoing is quite a wide digression from the subject of 
dinners, but its historical value will not be lost. Indeed, Thanks¬ 
giving as a religious festival, like most other religious observances, 
has come to be little else than a pretense, and it is valued chiefly 
on the part of its devotees as an occasion for gorging themselves 
with a rich dinner. It has a social value however as a time for 
family reunions that is its best feature. Roast turkey holds the 
imperial place in the Thanksgiving dinner, but for large parties 
a pig will not be out of place, and for smaller ones, fowls or a- 
cut of butchers* meat. Mince pie stands at the head of pastries, 
and the warp and woof of the dinner will be no difficult matter., 

CHRISTMAS DINNER. 

The remarks relating to Thanksgiving may be applied and 
adapted to Christmas, which is a perpetuation, under another 
name, of an ancient so-called heathen festival, which simply 
commemorates the change of the season, or the “birth” of the 
sun—that is, the time when it begins its return from its farthest 
southern declension. But instead of this typical birth of the 
sun, religious imposture has tortured the festival into a pretended 
commemoration of the “ birth ” of the central figure of a relig- 
ious'system. It is believed, however, that the festivities of the 
season will be quite as enjoyable in the light of their true mean¬ 
ing as under an error. 

The following will answer for a bill of fare : Chicken and 
cream soup, raw oysters, boiled salmon, roast turkey, chicken 
salad, cranberry sauce, baked tomatoes smothered in sugar, sweet 
potatoes, hot slaw, stewed corn, cream onions, potato puff, canned 
peas, pickled peaches, fried parsnips, mince pie, strawberry pie, 
cheese, jelly tartlets, canned fruit, nuts, raisins, coffee. 


DAILY MEALS AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 


287 


NEW YEAR’S DINNER. 

To round up the festivities of the season and aid in insuring 
a “ Happy New Year,” a good dinner is invariably in order, 
much more stress being laid upon quality and quantity than upon 
ceremonials. 

Something near the following bill of fare will be found appro¬ 
priate : Mock turtle soup, raw oysters, boiled turkey with oyster 
sauce, baked sweet potatoes, cream mashed potatoes, turnips, 
potato salad, Lima beans, pickled oysters, sweet corn, brown 
bread, French rolls, boiled beef tongue, celery, jelly, pickles, 
mince pie, cheese, ice cream, oranges, raisins, figs, nuts, coffee, 
chocolate. 


PICNIC OCCASIONS. 

It is hardly necessary to say that a picnic is ordinarily a very 
pleasant occasion, and not unfrequently convenience rivals taste 
in indicating the various edibles impressed into service. The 
following list may answer : Cold turkey or cold roast chicken, 
ham sandwiches, canned salmon, brown bread, rolls, mixed 
pickles, chocolate cake, baked pears or apples, jelly cake, hard 
boiled eggs, lemon pie, cookies, raspberry pie, ice cream, cold tea. 

RATIO OF SUPPLIES. 

One quart of oysters should generally be allowed for every 
three persons likely to be present at an entertainment. Five 
chickens, or a ten pound turkey boiled and minced, and fifteen 
heads of celery, are enough for chicken salad for fifty guests ; one 
gallon of ice cream to every twenty guests ; one hundred and 
thirty sandwiches and six to ten quarts of jellies for one hundred 
guests. For a company of twenty, allow three chickens for 
salad, one hundred pickled oysters, two molds of Charlotte russe, 
one gallon of cream, and four dozen biscuits. 










288 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


REQUISITES OF THE KITCHEN. 

It is an unfortunate fact that in many otherwise well appoint¬ 
ed houses the kitchen is the part which is most neglected; many 
times it is poorly constructed, without proper ventilation, utensils 
or furniture. The arrangements will vary so much, according 
to circumstances, that no universal rule can be given, but the 
following can be observed under nearly all conditions : 

1. The kitchen should be as large, light, airy, and as well ven¬ 
tilated as possible. 

2. It should be easy of access, without passing through the 
house. 

3. It should be sufficiently remote from the dwelling rooms 
to prevent the noise and smell of the cooking being carried 
to the family or guests. 

4. The pantry, store-rooms, and places for storing pots, kettles 
and pans, should be conveniently near. 

5. There should be plenty of fuel and water provided, and of 
easy access. 

6. There should be perfect system and order* a place for every 
thing, and every thing in its place. 

7. Above all other rules, the word Cleanliness should be 
written over every kitchen door in large letters, that all may see 
and observe. 

The woodwork of a kitchen should be thoroughly scoured at 
least twice a week with fine sand, soap, soft-water, and elbow- 
grease. The sink should be scoured daily with soft-soap and 
boiling water, and rinsed. As soon as the day’s work is done the 
windows should be opened at the top to ventilate and dispel un¬ 
pleasant smells. Neither the careful mistress nor the tidy ser¬ 
vant should be content to have the kitchen the one place in the 
house not fit to be looked into, as it is almost certain, if the 
kitchen is clean, tidy and well arranged that the rest of the 
house will be the same. The walls should be colored, and the 
ceilings whitewashed as often as they become dark colored. 


REQUISITES OF THE KITCHEN. 


289 


All pots, kettles, pans, gridirons and other cooking utensils 
'should be thoroughly cleaned and dried immediately after use, 
and each article assigned to its proper place. A clock should 
have a prominent place in every kitchen, so as to insure regularity 
in the work. The quantity and quality of the cooking utensils 
and furniture will depend upon the means and requirements of 
the family ; but under all circumstances the kitchen should be 
made as comfortable as possible, for it is generally more lived 
in than any other room in the house. 

COOKS’ TIME TABLE. 

The following table will show the average cooking time 
required for the articles named, varying according to circum¬ 
stances. The star (*) denotes the number of minutes required 
for each pound of meat. The figures denote hours and minutes. 


BOILED. 

Asparagus. 

Beans, in pod. 

Beans, with green com. 

Beets, young. 

Beets, old.. 

Beef, salted *. 

Cabbage. 

Cauliflower. 

Carrot, orange —. 

Codfish, dry or whole *.. 

Dumpling, apple. 

Eggs, hard. 

Eggs, soft. 

Fowls. 

Lamb *. 

Onions. 

Parsnips. 

Pork *. 

Potatoes . 

Rice. 

Salmon, fresh. 

Soup, vegetable. 

Soup, chicken. 

Soup, mutton. 

Soup, oyster. 

Spinach. 

Tapioca. 

Turnips . 

Turkey *. 

Salmon trout, fresh. 


.15 to .30 
1.00 
.45 
2.00 

4.30 
.35 

1.00 

1.00 

1.00 

.15 

1.00 

.05 

.03 

1.00 

.20 

.40 to 1.00 
1.00 
.25 
.30 
.20 
.08 
1.00 
2.00 

3.30 
.05 

.30 to 1.00 

1.30 
.45 
.20 
.30 


ROASTED. 

Beef*. 

Duck, tame. 

Duck, wild.. 

Fowls. 

Goose, wild*. 

Mutton*.. 

Pork*. 

Potatoes . 

Turkey*. 

BROILED. 

Beefsteak. 

Black bass, fresh. 

Mutton. 

Pork. 

Veal . 

Venison steak. 


Bread, com.. 
Bread, wheat. 
Cake, sponge 
Custard, 1 qt. 
Potatoes. 


FRIED. 


Beefsteak 


Sausage . 

Salmon trout, fresh. 


.25 

1.30 

1.00 

1.00 

.20 

.25 

.30 

.45 

.20 


.06 to .10 
.20 
.15 
.20 
.15 
.20 


.45 

1.00 

.45 

.30 

.30 


.10 

.03 to .05 
.15 
.30 


HOUSEKEEPERS’ WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 

1 quart sifted flour (well heaped) weighs 1 lb. 

4 teacups sifted flour (level) weigh 1 lb. 

1 quart sifted Indian meal weighs 1 lb. 4 ozs. 

2 teacups (or 1 pint) soft butter (well packed) weigh 1 lb. 

pints (about 3 teacups) powdered sugar weigh 1 lb. 



























































290 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

1 pint granulated sugar (heaped) weighs 14 ozs. 

2 teacups granulated sugar (level) weigh 1 lb. 

1 pint coffee “ A ” sugar (level) weighs 12 ozs. 

2 teacups coffee “ A ” sugar (well heaped) weigh 1 lb. 

1 pint best brown sugar weighs 13 ozs. 

2 % teacups best brown sugar (level) weigh 1 lb. 

3J teacups corn meal (level) equal 1 qt. 

1 tablespoonful (well heaped) granulated coffee “A” or best 
brown sugar, 1 oz. 

2 tablespoonfuls (well rounded) of powdered sugar or flour 
weigh 1 oz. 

1 tablespoonful (well rounded) of soft butter weighs 1 oz. 

Soft butter size of an egg weighs 2 ozs. 

7 tablespoonfuls granulated sugar (heaping) equal 1 teacup. 

5 tablespoonfuls sifted flour or meal (heaping) equal 1 teacup.. 
4 tablespoonfuls soft butter (well heaped) equal 1 teacup.* 


BREAD, BISCUIT, BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 

Bread is truly the “staff of life ,” and if it be not of good qual¬ 
ity, either a loss has to be sustained, or it is kept to neutralize 
the comfort of perhaps many successive meals. 

BREAD MAKING. 

The first requisite for good bread is good flour. Flour should' 
have a fine, clear look, with a soft, yellowish tinge, and when 
compressed in the hand it should adhere in a mass and retain the 
prints of the fingers. This will be a sufficient test of the quality 
of flour. 

Common Wheat Bread. —First make a thin batter of 2 
teacups of boiling water and the proper quantity of flour. 
Pour in a quart of cold water, add 1 teacup of yeast, 1 table¬ 
spoonful of salt, and 4 teaspoonfuls of melted lard, with 
enough flour to form a thick sponge or batter. Set to rise, and 
let stand 3 hours, then knead 10 minutes, kneading in all 


* For liquid measures, see page 38. 





The Household Culinary 























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































BREAD, BISCUIT, BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 291 

the flour it will take without sticking to the hands. Let it stimd 
again in the same temperature (about 70 degrees) an hour to rise. 
Knead again a little, roll and put it in the bread pan. Let it rise- 
until the corners are filled and the dough is nearly even with the 
edges of the pan. 

To bake successfully, the temperature of the oven should be 
about 212 degrees. Place your bread in the oven with a large 
pan turned over it so as not to hinder its rising, and bake three- 
quarters of an hour. 

Quickly Made Bread.— Early in the morning put 2 
yeast cakes in water to soak. Take 2 tablespoonfuls salt, 2 
of sugar and 3 of flour, pouring over them 1 pint boiling 
water. When cooled put in the prepared yeast and let rise until 
noon. Boil 12 large potatoes, mash fine and rub through a 
colander; pour over them 1 quart boiling and 1 of cold 
water; when luke warm add the yeast and let stand over night; 
afterward cover tightly and keep in a cool place. Mix hard as. 
other bread and put in tins. Let rise only once; mould well. 

To make a nice crust after the dough is ready for the tins, 
melt butter and grease the loaf all over. Bread tins should 
never be greased. Press flatly into the pans to insure uniformity 
in rising. The baking is all-important, and should receive the 
closest attention. 

Salt Rising Bread. —It should be set quite early; as a rule 
the earlier the better. Take 1 pint hot water, f teaspoonful 
salt and 1 teaspoonful sugar; stir to the thickness of pancake 
batter. Place the vessel containing it in water at 70 degrees, 
and let stand for 3 hours; thicken with flour until the batter is 
as thick as it was at the outset. Let it stand 3 hours, when it 
will again rise. Get out the quantity of flour required for bak¬ 
ing; scald about 1 pint of it, and when it is cool mix the rising 
with warm water to a stiffness suitable for kneading. The 
kneading should be thorough. Set aside until it rises to double 
its original size, and bake in a quick oven. If a large baking, 
the ingredients must be increased in proportion. 

Brown Bread. —Scald 2 quarts corn meal in 1 quart 
boiling milk or water; when cool add 1 quart Graham flour, 

1 large teaspoonful salt, 1 cup brown sugar or its equivalent 
of best molasses, 1 cup home-made yeast and 1 cup flour. 


^92 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Mix with warm water so that it will be rendered as stiff as 
it can be conveniently stirred; put in deep basins; steam 2 
hours and bake 1. Before baking, baste with a few spoonfuls 
.sweet cream or milk, by which means a soft tender crust will be 
produced. 

Boston Brown Bread. —Two cups Graham flour, 2 cups 
corn meal, 1 cup New Orleans molasses, 3 cups milk, 1 teaspoon¬ 
ful soda, 2 teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, or a substitute of sour 
milk, which is better. Steam 5 hours and bake hour. Keep 
closely covered while steaming and have the water boiling all the 
time. 

Graham Bread. —One and f cups water or milk and a 
small piece of butter or lard; with this make a thick mixture 
with Graham flour, add cup good yeast and set to rise over 
night. In the morning dissolve teaspoonful soda in a little 
water, and add ^ cup molasses; stir this into the bread, mix 
quite soft and put into baking tins to rise. It should be baked 
thoroughly. A superior rye and wheat loaf may be made in the 
same way, using 1J cups sifted rye and the rest wheat flour. A 
lighter colored loaf may be had by using only 1 cup of rye, 
sweetened with sugar. 

German Bread. —One pint bread sponge, 1 cup sugar, 1 
■egg, 1 piece butter of the size of a walnut; beat all together 
until light; stir in flour until it has about the consistency of 
cake; let it rise until light; bake in an oven having a rather 
moderate degree of heat. After the tin is buttered cinnamon 
.should be sifted over it, and just before baking sugar should be 
sifted over the top. 

Corn Bread. —One egg, 1 cup molasses or sugar, 1 cup sour 
milk, 2 cups sweet milk, 2 cups wheat flour, 3 cups corn meal, 
1 teaspoonful each of soda and salt. Put in a two quart basin, 
steam 1 hour, and bake 1 hour in a slow oven. 

Indian Loaf. —One pint corn meal, 1 pint flour, 1 pint but¬ 
termilk, 1 teacup molasses, 1 teaspoonful soda, 1 teaspoonful 
salt; bake slowly 2 hours. 

Virginia Corn Bread. —Melt a tablespoonful of butter in 
3£ pints of boiling milk and scald 1 quart of the first quality 
of corn meal therein. When cool add £ pint wheat flour, 


BREAD, BISCUIT, BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 293- 

a little sugar, a teaspoonful salt and 2 eggs well beaten. Mix 
well together and bake in two cake tins, well buttered. 

Magnum Bonum Corn Cake. —One pint choice white 
corn meal, 2 heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder, mixed with the 
corn meal when dry, 1 pint sweet milk, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoonful 
salt, \ cup of white wheat flour, 1| tablespoonfuls of sugar,, 
and a tablespoonful shortening. 

BISCUIT, BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 

Biscuit may be mixed with sour milk, buttermilk, sweet milk, 
or water. When the milk is sour, the addition of soda or alkali 
to the acid of the milk causes an effervescence, and makes the 
dough light. A teaspoonful or more of soda to a pint of milk 
should be used, according to the degree of acidity of the milk. 
For sweet milk or water, a similar effect is had by mixing soda 
with cream of tartar, say 1 teaspoonful of soda and 2 teaspoon¬ 
fuls cream of tartar to every 3 pints of flour to be used ; or 3 
teaspoonfuls of baking powder to the same quantity of flour. It 
is best to mix the soda, or whatever else is used, with the dry 
flour, then as the flour is mixed with the liquid an effervescence 
takes place, or a series of small explosions, which causes the- 
dough to “rise” or to become “light.” 

In mixing biscuit the oven should be ready and the biscuit- 
be put to bake as soon as mixed and panned, so that they will 
bake quickly. If the oven is of the right temperature biscuit 
should bake in about 8 minutes, though some require a longer 
time, of which the housekeeper will judge. Where water is 
used for mixing, a hotter oven is required than when milk is 
used. 

When biscuit or cakes of any kind are yellow, there is too 1 
much of the soda or alkaline property; if heavy or clammy, 
there is too little. 

Biscuit. —One quart buttermilk, 2 small teaspoonfuls soda, 

1 of salt, with flour sufficient to make a stiff dough ; mix only as- 
much as may be necessary, and do it quickly. Roll out and cut 
and bake with all expedition. 

Soda Biscuit. —One quart flour, 1 tablespoonful lard, 1 tea¬ 
spoonful soda, 2 teaspoonfuls cream tartar. Mix with sweet milk.. 


294 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Baking Powder Biscuit.— One pint water, J cup of 
shortening composed of lard and butter, 1 teaspoonful salt, 1 
large tablespoonful baking powder. Sift the flour into the pan ; 
mix the baking powder and salt into the centre of the flour; 
mix only enough flour to insure the proper rolling of the bis¬ 
cuit ; knead as little as possible; bake in a hot oven. The above 
proportions are for about 18 biscuit. 

Tea Biscuit. —One-half cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 2 pints 
flour, 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder, 1 teaspoonful extract nut¬ 
meg. Sift the flour, sugar and powder together; rub in the 
butter cold and add enough sweet milk to make a soft dough. 
Roll out half* an inch thick and cut out with a biscuit cutter. 
Wash over with milk and bake at once. 

Cream Biscuit. —One pint thick sour cream, 1 teaspoonful 
soda, 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar. Put them in the flour and 
wet with sweet milk. 

Dixie Biscuit. —Three pints flour, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls 
lard, 1 small cup yeast, 1 cup milk; mix at 11 o’clock and roll 
out at 4 ; cut with two sizes of cutters, putting the smaller on 
top ; let rise until supper. Bake 20 minutes. 

Graham Biscuit. —Three cups Graham flour, 1 cup white 
flour, 3 cups milk, 2 tablespoonfuls shortening, 1 large spoonful 
white sugar, 1 saltspoonful salt, 1 teaspoonful soda, 2 teaspoon¬ 
fuls cream tartar ; mix and bake as with soda biscuit. 

Indian Light Biscuit. —One quart sifted corn meal, 1 pint 
■sifted wheat flour, a small teaspoonful salt, 3 pints milk, 4 eggs. 
Stir in a teaspoonful soda dissolved in warm water just before 
baking. Butter a suitable number of cups or small deep tins; 
nearly fill them with the batter; set immediately in hot oven; 
serve hot, pull open and eat with butter. 

Strawberry Shortcake. —Mix a saltspoonful salt with a 
pound of flour, and 3 tablespoonfuls butter; dissolve a tea- 
spoonful soda in hot water, and add, with a well beaten egg, a 
large cup of sour cream or rich “lobbered” milk, together with 
a tablespoonful white sugar. Put all together, handling as 
little as possible, and mixed as soft as can be rolled. Roll lightly 
and quickly into two sheets, and bake in round tins well greased, 
laying one sheet upon the other. When done, they may be 


BREAD, BISCUIT, BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 295 

easily separated. Lay on the lower sheet a thick layer of straw¬ 
berries, and dust with powdered sugar. If desired, strawberries 
can be placed on top and sugared as before. Serve with sweet 
•cream. If the berries are slightly heated and crushed lightly 
with a spoon and then put between the crusts, the quality of the 
cake will be considerably improved. Do not mash the berries. 
Raspberries, blackberries, chopped pineapple, sliced oranges or 
peaches may be used instead of strawberries. 

Sweet Potato Shortcake. —Take 2 boiled sweet potatoes 
and mash while warm, working the lard or butter into them, 
with 2 teaspoons of yeast-powder and flour enough to make a 
thick dough ; roll out, and bake in a hot oven ; to be eaten hot. 

Cinnamon Rolls. —Take light dough as for bread; mix 1 
egg and a little sugar with shortening, roll out to the thickness 
of one-fourth of an inch ; spread with butter; sprinkle with 
sugar and cinnamon ; roll up and cut; put in pans and set to 
rise. When light, put a lump of butter with sugar and cinna¬ 
mon upon each one, and bake. 

Southern Corn Bread. —One pint corn meal partially scald¬ 
ed, \ pint sour milk, 1 teaspoonful soda, 2 eggs, 1 dessert spoon¬ 
ful melted lard, and a little salt. If the batter is too stiff, add 
more sour milk. Bake in shallow tin in hot oven. 

Johnny Cake. —Two teacups sour milk, a piece of butter 
the size of an egg, 1 tablespoonful sugar, 1 egg, a little salt, J 
teacupful flour, thicken with corn meal, adding a large tea- 
.spoonful soda, and bake at least half an hour. It is impor¬ 
tant that the batter should be of the right thickness, and this 
can generally be accomplished only through experience. It is 
not a bad method to make with sour cream, leaving out the 
butter. 

Bread Cakes. —Pour over a pint of bread crumbs the same 
measure of boiling milk. If the milk has been skimmed a small 
piece of butter must be added. Cover closely and let stand over 
night. In the morning mash to a smooth paste and beat 
thoroughly with it the yolks of 2 eggs. Then gradually add 
i pint of cold milk, beating meanwhile, and £ pint of flour 
with which baking powder has been sifted. Lastly add the whites 
of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth. These cakes require longer 
baking than batter cakes and should be baked of a small size, as 


296 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

they are tender and easily torn, and when served should be spread 
over the plate and not piled one upon the other. 

Flannel Cakes. —Take equal proportions of fine corn meal 
and wheat flour. To 1 quart of warm water add 3 pints of meal 
and flour mixed, a pinch of salt, some yeast, and half a gill 
molasses. Let rise over night. Cook like batter cakes. 

Graham Gems. —One quart of Graham flour, 1 pint cold 
water, 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well together and beat for five 
minutes. Have the gem pans very hot, butter them and half fill 
with the mixture. Bake till brown in a hot oven. They should 
take 25 minutes. 

Hoe Cakes. —First scald 1 quart of corn meal in enough 
W'ater to make a thick batter, mix in 2 spoonfuls of butter, a 
teaspoon of soda, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bake half an hour im 
a buttered pan. 

Tomato Cakes. —Cover sliced ripe tomatoes with a nice bat¬ 
ter, and fry a rich brown, on a pan or griddle. 

Potato Cakes. —Take cold mashed potatoes, stir into them 
a beaten egg and a little cream, season with salt, and make into 
round cakes. Fry in hot lard or batter to a delicate brown ; 
serve hot. 


GRIDDLE CAKES. 

Griddle Cakes, if well made, furnish the basis for an excellent 
breakfast or supper. Good coffee or tea, with warm cakes and 
butter, make a repast good enough for the heir apparent, and 
especially if some fried or warmed potatoes be added, the morning 
or evening meal may be made without the addition of meat. 
The batter for wheat flour and buckwheat cakes should be made 
moderately thin, and baked on a smooth, quick griddle, using 
but very little fat. If you have a soapstone griddle, no fat will 
be required. They should spread evenly on the griddle, so as to 
bake evenly. A lump of raw dough in a griddle cake brings dis¬ 
gust rather than relish. Wheat flour cakes should be a deep 
brown, and if a little scorched they are all the better. 

Wheat Flour Cakes. —Use bolted flour or Graham and white 
flour in equal parts; mix with milk that is a little sour; add a 
small teaspoonful of soda, a little salt, and one egg, for each 


BREAD, BISCUIT, BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 297 

quart of milk. When Graham flour is used the batter should be 
a trifle thinner than when white flour is used alone. 

Buckwheat Cakes. —Stir the flour in warm water to make 
a tolerably thick batter, using (for the first mixing) 2 or 3 table¬ 
spoonfuls of yeast to each quart of flour. Put in a little salt, 
say a teaspoonful or two to each quart of flour. Mix in an 
earthen crock at night, and set in a warm place. The first thing 
in the morning, dissolve a small teaspoonful of soda in hot water 
and add to the batter ; be careful not to use too much soda—it 
is better to add a little than to spoil the cakes with too much. 
Add warm water enough to make the batter tolerably thin and 
limpid, and let stand in a warm place so as not to scald for a few 
minutes. Now if you stir the batter it will dance as though 
anxious to get on to a hot griddle. Have your fire made so it 
will keep an even heat, and have the griddle smooth and hot; 
throw on a little dry salt and rub with a dry cloth or paper. 
Don’t throw butter or fat upon it by the spoonful; a very little 
grease is all that is required, so don’t spoil the cakes and smoke 
the house by using too much. The best thing for a “greaser” 
is a bit of fresh fat meat. The batter is best poured “from a 
small pitcher; it will “spread itself” if made right. Pour on 
enough to make a cake about the diameter of a small saucer. 
They will taste best when about this size ; don’t place them so 
thickly on the griddle that they have to be cut apart—square 
corners and angles on a buckwheat cake spoils the poetry of it 
completely. But don’t stop to read or think about this now, for 
the cake is ready to turn—that is, if there are little holes or 
pits on the surface; slip your knife under it and turn it quick ; 
don’t let it crust on either side. Serve as hot as possible. Eat 
with butter, pork gravy or sausage gravy. Don’t use all the bat¬ 
ter, but leave enough in the crock to raise the next batch, which 
will be better than the first. 

The above is contributed by a sextagenarian, who says he 
knows how to make buckwheat cakes and how to eat them, but 
there are so many modern innovations and adulterations that he 
never expects to enjoy another genuine “slapjack,” and wishes 
to leave this legacy to posterity, lest the art be lost. 

Some put a little molasses in buckwheat batter so that the 
cakes will brown ; some also add a little corn meal or oatmeal.. 

19 


298 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

The modern way prescribes syrup for buckwheat cakes, but these 
are all corruptions of one of the greatest luxuries of the fall and 
winter table, that can be enjoyed by prince and peasant alike. 

Buckwheat cakes are also made by mixing with soda or self¬ 
rising flour, but they are not as good ; there is but one orthodox 
way, and that is as above. 

Green Corn Cakes. —Grate a half dozen ears sweet or 
sugar corn; scrape from the cob any pulp that may remain; 
add a beaten egg, pour in a cup of rich sweet milk, salt, and 
scatter in a good handful of fresh bread crumbs; add flour until 
the mixture is of the consistency of griddle-cake batter; fry on 
a hot griddle. 

Dixie Corn Dodgers. —Put your baking pan to heat; 
take a pint of cornmeal, a tablespoonful lard, a little salt and a 
scant pint of cold water; mix well and let stand while the pan 
is being greased and a little meal sprinkled over it. Make 
the dough into rolls of the size of goose eggs and drop them on 
the hot pan, taking care to flatten as little as possible. Bake in 
the oven until brown on the bottom; change to the grate and 
brown on the top, the entire process requiring from twenty to 
thirty minutes. Eaten hot with plenty of good butter they are 
hardly surpassed by anything in the bread line. 

Hominy Cakes. —To 1 pint warm boiled hominy add 1 
pint milk or water, and enough flour to make a thin batter; 
beat up 2 or 3 eggs and stir them into the batter with a little 
.salt. Bake like other griddle cakes. 

Kice Gem Cakes. —To 1 pint soft boiled rice add a teacup 
flour, a tablespoonful butter, a little salt, 2 well-beaten eggs, and 
milk enough to make a batter. Bake on a griddle or pour into 
well-greased gem pans. 

Kentucky Cakes. —Six tablespoonfuls white corn meal, a 
little salt, •§• teacup milk ; thoroughly scald with boiling water ; 
add milk and drop from tablespoon into boiling hot lard or drip¬ 
pings in frying pan or spider ; fry a dark brown on both sides. 
When done, open and insert a little butter. 

MUFFINS. 

One quart flour, 2 eggs beaten separately, 1 tablespoonful lard, 
1 of sugar, 1 teaspoonful salt and 2 of baking powder, 1 cup sour 


BREAD, BISCUIT, BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 299 

milk ; beat well and bake in muffin rings or puff pans in a quick 
oven. 

Rice Muffins. —One tablespoonful butter, 1 teaspoonful salt, 
1 cup cold boiled rice, 2 eggs, 1 quart milk and 1 pint flour. 

Breakfast Muffins.— One pint milk, 1 egg, a piece of butter 
as large as a lien's egg, 1 teaspoonful salt, ^ teacup yeast, and 
flour to make a stiff batter. Rise over night and bake in rings. 

Oorn Muffins. —One quart corn meal, 1 quart wheat flour, 
8 eggs, 2 gills yeast, a little salt, as much warm milk as will 
make the whole into a thick batter; mix the meal and wheat 
flour, stir in the milk, then the yeast, and lastly the eggs; beat 
thoroughly; when the batter is light grease the griddle and 
muffin rings, place the rings on the griddle, pour in the batter, 
bake brown on both sides and serve hot. If for breakfast, set to 
rise the night previous ; if for tea, at about one o'clock. 

WAFFLES. 

Plain Waffles. —One pint sweet milk, 4 eggs, 1 large cup 
cold rice or hominy, a little salt, flour sufficient to make a stiff 
batter, with baking powder in the proportion of 3 teaspoonfuls 
to a quart of flour. 

Light Waffles. —One quart milk, 1 quart flour, 5 table- 
.spoonfuls yeast, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoonful melted butter, 1 tea- 
spoonful salt; set the mixture—without the eggs and butter— 
over night as a sponge; add these in the morning and bake in 
waffle irons. 

Dixie Waffles. —Beat the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs until light, 
add a cup of water and 1 of buttermilk, 2 level cups of sifted 
flour, and 2 level tablespoonfuls of lard. Take care to stir 
lightly, as beating batter induces toughness. Put in \ tea¬ 
spoonful soda and the beaten whites of the eggs. Have the irons 
very hot, grease them with lard, and put in only enough batter 
to make them one-third full. If the waffles stick to the irons add 
a little more flour upon the next trial. 

Quick Waffles. —Three cups flour, 2 cups milk, 2 eggs, £ 
teaspoonful cream of tartar, half as much soda, 1 tablespoonful 
melted butter, and a little salt. Sift the cream of tartar and 
salt into the flour; dissolve the soda in a little hot water; beat 
eggs ; put in the flour last, and bake. 


300 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


FRITTERS. 

Croquettes.—One cupful of minced meat, 2 cups of bread 
crumbed or soaked soft, 1 egg; salt and pepper to the taste; 
fry in spoonfuls in boiling lard. 

Raspberry Fritters. —Make a batter of a pint of milk, 1 
egg, a little salt, and enough flour to make a mixture not toe 
thick to drop from a spoon. Add a cup of fine raspberries, with 
a tablespoonful of granulated sugar mixed with them. Fry in 
hot lard and dash with powdered sugar. 

Apple Fritters. —Beat 3 eggs lightly, stir in 1 teaspoonful 
salt, cup sugar, 1 pint milk, 2 cups chopped apples and 2 cups 
flour, flavoring with nutmeg. Stir all well together and fry in 
lard in the same way as with batter cakes. Sift sugar over them 
and send to the table. 

Hominy Croquettes. —To a cup of cold boiled hominy— 
small grained—add a tablespoonful melted butter, stirring hard, 
and moistening by degrees with a cup of rich milk, beating to a 
soft paste. Put in a teaspoonful sugar and a well beaten egg. 
Roll into oval balls and dip into beaten egg, then into cracker 
crumbs, and fry in hot lard. Flour your hands before rolling 
them. 

Bread Fried Cakes. —Soak odd bits of bread in milk or 
milk and water until perfectly soft; mash fine; add 2 eggs, a 
little soda, salt to taste, and enough flour to make them fry 
nicely ; drop into hot butter or lard. 

Green Corn Fritters. —Grate green sweet or sugar corn 
from the cob, and allow 1^ eggs for every cup, with a table¬ 
spoonful of milk or cream; beat the eggs well; add the corn by 
degrees, beating very hard ; salt to taste. Put a tablespoonful 
melted butter to every pint of corn; stir in the milk and 
thicken with just enough flour to hold them together. Fry in 
hot lard as with fritters, or cook upon a griddle like batter 
cakes. 

Oatmeal Porridge. —Ingredients : 1 teacupful oatmeal, \ . 
teaspoonful salt, 1 quart cold water. Be particular to observe 
that the water is strictly cold. Put the ingredients into a farina 
kettle or some vessel that may be kept surrounded with water to 
prevent burning. Oatmeal porridge is usually served as the first 


SOUPS. 


301 


course for breakfast, in the same way as soup is served for 
dinner. Prepared for cooking as above, it should be cooked 1£ 
to 2 hours the previous day over a gentle fire, and \ to f hour 
before breakfast the next morning, adding more water in the 
morning if too thick to suit the taste. Do not stir it during 
oooking, as it will be much lighter than if the grains are broken 
by stirring. To be eaten with milk or cream, with or without 
sugar, according to the taste. Meal of medium fineness should 
be preferred; even the coarser description preferable to the fine. 
€are should also be taken to secure a fresh article. 


SOUPS. 

The standard soup for families is obtained through the boiling 
of joints of beef, veal or mutton, beef being the more generally 
used. The dish may be rendered palatable as well as nutritious, 
and decidedly agreeable to the taste of the great mass of consum¬ 
ers by the addition of most of the vegetable products in common 
use. All agree, physicians among the rest, in pronouncing soups 
decidedly healthful and nutritious. 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR SOUP MAKING. 

To insure the extraction of the juice, cut the meat into small 
pieces, break the bone the whole length, put into cold water 
without salt, and allow it to heat very slowly. When it comes 
to a boil let it be well skimmed, and then put the pot where it 
will simmer slowly until the meat is thoroughly done and freed 
from the juices, always keeping the pot closely covered. The 
following day, when the soup is cold, remove the fat from the 
surface. All soups are the better for being prepared the day 
before using. The vegetables may be added the second day. 
They should first be boiled by themselves, or they will impart 
rather too strong a flavor to the soup. Seasoning for meat soup 
is usually the same, salt and a moderate amount of pepper. 

Vegetable Soup. —Take a shin of beef, boil it in 2 gallons 
of water; when reduced to 1 gallon, add J turnip cut in dice. 



302 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD 

1 onion sliced and chopped, and J cup of pearl barley, washed 
in cold water. The barley should be put in a little sooner than 
the vegetables. Take up the meat bone when the vegetables are 
added, cut off the ragged edges of the meat, and add to the soup. 
Serve the meat on a platter, or use cold. 

Tomato Soup. —Boil a shin of veal 3 hours, cut up'2 onions, 

2 carrots, and 2 turnips, and put with it; also pepper and salt 
and 1 dozen tomatoes. Boil this 2 hours and strain it through 
a sieve. Toast some pieces of bread a light brown; cut them 
in dice form and put them into the dish. The soup should 
be turned over the toast at the moment of serving. 

Celery Cream Soup. —Take the liquor in which veal or 
chickens have been boiled ; put on \ cup of rice in a pint of rich 
milk and grate into it the white part and roots of 2 heads of 
celery. Let the rice milk cool very slowly at the back of the 
stove, adding more milk before it gets at all stiff ; when tender 
enough to mash through a coarse sieve or fine colander, add it 
to the soup, which must have been strained and be quite free 
from sediment. Season with salt and a little white pepper or 
cayenne and boil all together gently a few minutes. It will 
look like rich cream and be strongly flavored with celery. 

Chicken Soup. —Take 2 young fowls, or 1 half grown; £ 
pound of salt pork, 1 gallon water; cut the fowls in pieces and 
put into the pot with the pork, with water enough to cover the 
whole. Stew for about 1 hour ; take out the breasts, leaving the 
rest of the meat in the pot, and add boiling hot water enough 
to make the soup ; have the soup slowly stirred while you chop 
the breasts ; rub the yolks of 4 hard-boiled eggs smooth, moist¬ 
ening to a paste with a few spoonfuls of soup ; mix with these a 
handful of fine bread crumbs and the chopped meat, and make 
it into small balls. When the soup has boiled well 2-J hours, if 
the chicken be reduced to shreds, strain the meat and bones; 
season with salt, butter and a bunch of parsley ; add a pint of 
rich milk thickened with flour ; boil up once, and serve. 

Bean Soup. —Put the beans into a kettle, with water enough 
to cover, and when they commence to boil stir in a small piece 
of soda and let boil up ; pour off the water, put on fresh water, 
add a small piece off pork, and let them cook until well done, 
then dip out the beans and press them through a colander into 


SOUPS. 


303 


tlie liquor in which they were boiled; tie up some thyme in a 
little bag and put in the pot to simmer a few minute* ; boil hard 
a few eggs and quarter and put them in the soup, together with 
a sliced lemon and a little butter ; season with salt and pepper. 
A piece of fresh raw beef put in with the seasoning is an improve¬ 
ment ; let it remain until well done through, but do not serve 
it in the soup. Rich milk or butter may be substituted for the 
beef. 

Clam Soup. —There is absolutely but one method of mak¬ 
ing clam soup that will remedy all objections and commend 
itself to all tastes. Wash and rinse the clams very thoroughly for 
reasons that will appear in the sequel. Deposit them in the 
kettle with a proper allowance of hot water and milk. They 
will all open opportunely, when they must be taken out and the 
meats chopped; put them into the kettle and boil nearly half 
an hour; butter and season to taste. If the soup is too strong 
it may be reduced. This will of course depend upon the rela¬ 
tive amount of water at the outset. A dozen clams are enough 
for a family of five. The judgment of the average epicure will 
pronounce this dish fully equal to anything in the whole range 
of soups. 

Pea Soup, —Soak 1 pint split peas all night; put on a beef 
bone early and cover with water; take off the scum as it rises. 
Take 2 onions, 1 carrot and 1 turnip, and pare and cut into 
slices; add to the soup about an hour before serving; season 
with pepper and salt; boil the peas slowly, and when done 
mash them and add the soup. Care should be used to prevent 
the soup from burning. 

Oxtail Soup. —Take 2 oxtails, 2 onions, 2 carrots, 1 turnip, 
2 tablespoonfuls flour, a little white pepper and 1 gallon water. 
Boil 2 hours. Take out the tails and cut the meat in small 
pieces; return the bones to the pot and boil another hour; 
strain the soup; add 2 spoonfuls of arrowroot and boil the whole 
\ hour. 

Gumbo Soup. —Stew -J peck of tomatoes in a porcelain ket¬ 
tle ; have peck of ochra cut in fine shreds ; place them, with 
thyme, parsley, and a finely cut onion, into the tomatoes, and 
let them cook until quite tender. Fricassee a chicken in ham 


304 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD* 


gravy j take yolks of 4 eggs, a little vinegar, tlie Juice of 1 
lemon, and season to taste, beating the eggs into the vinegar; 
pour this over the chicken; {hen put all into the tomatoes, let¬ 
ting the kettle be nearly filled with water. Boil all together 4 
or 5 hours. 


METHOD OF COOKING MEATS. 

Much satisfaction may be had, and much sickness, bad tem¬ 
per and disease avoided, by the proper preparation and cooking 
of the food that we eat. 

Meats are generally prepared by roasting, baking, boiling, broil¬ 
ing, frying or stewing, and these processes should be so con¬ 
ducted as to prevent as far as possible the loss of any nutritious 
elements of winch the food is composed. Especially in the cook¬ 
ing of meats, remember to cook the juices in, and not, as so 
many do, cook them out. All fresh meats are best broiled or 
roasted. Beef should be always cooked rare or underdone—veal, 
lamb, mutton, bacon and pork should on the contrary be thor¬ 
oughly cooked. Poultry and game should be broiled or roasted. 

ROASTING. 

The old-fashioned way of roasting meat before an open fire 
is by far the best mode, but in these days of stoves and other 
inventions it is seldom cooked in this manner. Whether roasted 
before the fire or baked in an oven, the meat should for the first 
few minutes be exposed to a sharp heat, by which means the 
albumen and coloring matters are coagulated without the fibrin 
being corrugated and hardened. The coating thus formed 
on the surface prevents the escape of the juices within, and 
the substance of the meat is retained. After a short expos¬ 
ure to the sharp heat the meat should be removed to a greater 
distance, or the heat allowed to become less intense, and 
the meat cooked more slowly. The length of time required 
for cooking is generally calculated by the thickness and weight 
and kind of meat. Basting is also a great secret of success. 



METHOD OF COOKING MEATS. 


305 


lean meats requiring more basting than fat, and often one 
side is more lean than the other, and attention should be regu¬ 
lated according to circumstances. Wild game and poultry are 
-dry and tasteless unless particular attention is paid to basting 
often. 

BROILING. 

The only civilized way to cook beef steak, chops, ham or 
bacon, is to broil over live, glowing coals. It does not call for 
.any particular skill on the part of the cook, but requires more 
care and constant attention than almost any other method. 
Beef from which steak is to be cut should, where practicable, 
hang two or three weeks before using. The steak should be 
neither pounded, mashed, or pepper or salt applied before cook¬ 
ing. It should be cut about 1 inch thick, and from the loin. 
Have the gridiron clean, place over the glowing coals, turn the 
steak the moment the side next to the fire is seared, so as to 
retain the juices, and keep turning often, using a knife or steak 
tongs; never stick a fork or knife into the meat, as the juice 
will escape and the meat will be spoiled. A little experience 
will enable the cook to decide when the meat is sufficiently 
cooked. If it feels soft, spongy, and flabby on pressure with 
the side of a fork or knife, it is underdone; if it is hard it is 
cooked too much. The point is to hit the medium between the 
two extremes. When the meat is cooked, hold it a moment in 
mid-air so as to let the fat drop from it. Place it upon a very 
hot platter, season with pepper and salt, and spread over the 
steak a liberal quantity of the best fresh butter, and serve imme¬ 
diately. 

BOILING. 

The method to be adopted depends entirely upon this question: 
4 ‘ Is this meat to be eaten or not ? ” If it is to be eaten, it is 
desirable to retain the juices within the meat, and to effect this, 
place the meat in the hottest boiling water. This will cause the 
water to cease boiling, but it should be made to boil again as 
quickly as possible, and kept boiling for four or five minutes. 
Then the kettle should be removed from the fire, or a little cold 
water added to reduce the temperature, and afterwards the meat 
should be gently simmered until done. The five minutes quick 


306 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

boiling will coagulate the albumen on the surface of the meat 
and completely surround it with a hard crust through which 
the juices cannot escape. 

The foregoing refers to the manner of boiling fresh, unsalted 
meats. Salted or canned meats should be placed first in cold 
water and gradually brought to a boil, boiling moderately until 
done. 

If the meat is not to be eaten, and it is desired that the juices 
should be drawn out to make soup or broth, the meat should be 
cut into small pieces, put into cold water, gradually heated, and 
gently simmered as long as necessary. When meat begins to 
boil the impurities rise to the surface in the shape of scum. 
This should be carefully skimmed off as it rises, otherwise it 
will quickly sink again and cannot be easily removed. 

FRYING. 

This process, like boiling, can be so managed as to have the- 
article fried retain its juices and not absorb the grease. To ac¬ 
complish this the fat should be boiling hot, and the articles drop¬ 
ped in will become seared on the outside, with a crisp surface- 
through which grease cannot penetrate, but care must be used in 
turning the meat, fish or other articles, to not break the crisp sur¬ 
face, as the fat would make its way within, and the article become 
greasy. The thing to be fried should be completely immersed 
in boiling fat until cooked enough, then placed for a few min¬ 
utes before serving on a clean hot cloth, which will absorb the 
grease which is on the surface. 

STEWING. 

The action of the stew-pan closely resembles that of the stom¬ 
ach, and it is a great advantage when the first can be made to do’ 
some of the work which is often assigned to the latter. Dyspep¬ 
tics and others laboring under a weakened condition of the- 
stomach, will often find food prepared in this way of great benefit,, 
as it is easy to digest. There are many pieces of meat that can 
be stewed, that would otherwise be,, wasted. The shins of beef,, 
flanks, and trimmings of steaks and chops, when properly stewed,, 
make wholesome and savory dishes. The meat should be cut in 
small pieces, and just covered with cold water, then gradually 


METHOD OF COOKING MEATS. 


30 T 


heating, not allowing it to boil, but simply kept simmering slowly 
until well cooked. A large portion of nutritive matter passes 
into the gravy, but as this is consumed as well as the solid ma¬ 
terial, no harm is done. 

COOKING MEATS GENERALLY. 

Broiled Beefsteak. —The orthodox way to cook a steak is 
by broiling, directions for which will be found under that head. 
Another way, which is about equivalent to broiling, is to heat a 
pan glowing hot, put the steak in without fat, and turn, season 
and serve it the same as in broiling. 

Beefsteak Smothered in Onions. —Cut up 6 onions fine, 
place in a frying pan with 1 cup hot water, 2 ounces butter, and 
pepper and salt; mix with a little flour ; fry until brown ; broil 
the steak and put it in the pan with the onions. Let it fry a 
few minutes, and send to the table hot. 

Utilizing Cold Beef. —Chop the meat fine, soak bread in 
cold water until quite soft; squeeze the bread with the hands 
until the water is expressed, (having -§ as much bread as 
meat); mix both ingredients thoroughly together; beat 3 eggs 
well and mix in; add salt to the taste; make in balls the size of a 
biscuit, and fry slowly in butter or cooking fat until brown on 
both sides. 

Broiled Ham. —Cut in large slices and remove the bulk of 
the fat; broil over a hot fire, turning frequently, until both 
sides are well done; lay on a platter, spread with butter and 
serve promptly. 

Roast Ham. —Ham for baking should be well soaked, say at 
least 12 hours. Wipe dry, trim away rusty or unseemly looking 
points on the exterior, cover with a paste dressing an inch thick to 
keep the juices from escaping, and bake about 4 hours after the 
style pointed out in the general remarks on roasting. Many give 
roast ham the preference over boiled, retaining, as it does, more 
juice and a finer flavor, besides being susceptible of keeping for 
a longer time. 

Ham and Eggs. —Ham should be cut not more than a 
quarter to three-eights of an inch thick. The rind should be 


308 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

trimmed off, and if it is to be broiled, a portion of the fat also. 
It should be cooked done in either case, though not so as to 
be dry and hard. For frying, put in a little butter and let it 
get hot before putting in the ham. When done pour off the 
clear fat and rinse the spider with a little hot water; pour 
this on the ham as a gravy. The rind, and any bits of fat 
that may be cut off, should be put in a spider and the fat tried 
out. It makes a good ham gravy, is good to fry eggs in, or for 
shortening. 

The eggs should be fried in ham gravy or pork gravy, but this 
should first be poured off from the sediment of salt in the spider, 
which should be rinsed out as above directed, and the clear fat 
returned to the spider. This gives the eggs a brownish tinge, 
and helps to season them, and is much better than clear lard, 
although a little lard may be added if necessary. Have the fat 
hot, break the eggs in a saucer, pour them in the spider ; baste 
the upper side with the hot fat until done to the taste. 

Roasted Heart. —Wipe beefs heart dry, trim and clean it; 
make a stuffing as follows: The proper quantity of crumbs of 
bread, 2 ounces butter, with parsley or any other favorite herbs 
chopped, lemon pell grated, pepper, salt and nutmeg, with the 
yolk of an egg; mix and fill the cavities of the heart. For 
roasting (or baking) about \ of an hour will be required for each 
pound weight. Serve with gravy, melted butter and currant 

jeNy- 

Lamb Chops. —Trim the flap from a fine loin of lamb and 
cut into chops about f of an inch thick. Lay them upon a grid¬ 
iron over a quick, bright fire, and broil to a nice-looking brown, 
turning when required. Season with pepper, salt and butter. 
Serve hot. Potatoes and asparagus, fpi iach or peas, are good 
accompaniments to lamb. 

Liver. —Liver may be either fried or broiled. Cut thin, and 
pour hot water upon it. Fry in butter or pork gravy. Or broil 
over clear coals, garnish with butter, and season to the taste. 
Liver and bacon fried together, or cooked separately, make a 
favorite dish. Liver should be cooked well done. Liver is also 
used as a component in gravy dressing. 

Roast Pig. —A well-conditioned pig ab ufc six weeks old is 


METHOD OF COOKING MEATS. 


309 


best for roasting. For dressing take a cup of bread crumbs, an 
onion, 2 teaspoonfuls powdered sage, 3 tablespoonfuls melted 
butter, a salt spoonful pepper, \ teaspoonful salt, 2 well beaten 
eggs. Mix all these except the eggs together ; moisten with \ 
cup warm water or milk, beat in the eggs and stuff the pig to- 
his natural size. Sew up and bind the fore feet backward, the 
hind feet forward and close to the body, and skewer them into- 
the proper position ; dry well and dredge with flour. Put to 
roast with a little hot water, slightly salted, in the dripping pan, 
baste with butter and water three times. When it begins to 
steam rub it over every five minutes with a cloth dipped in melted 
butter. This will make the skin tender and soft after beginning 
to brown. The usual time required for roasting is nearly or quite 
two hours for a pig of the description named. It is important 
to have it well done. 

Pork Spare-Rib. —Joint nicely and crack the ribs across. 
The fire ought not to be too hot. The meat should be basted 
with a little butter and flour and sprinkled with fine sage. It. 
takes from 2 to 3 hours to cook, as pork sliould always be 
done thoroughly. Apple sauce, mashed potatoes and greens arc 
good accompaniments. 

Salt Pork Fried in Batter. —Prepare freshened slices of 
salt pork. Take 4 eggs, 3 heaping teaspoonfuls flour, a cup of 
milk and a little salt; beat thoroughly together and turn over 
the meat in a frying pan and cook all to a nice brown. 

Stuffed Veal. —For this a piece should be got from the- 
breast, and the butcher should chop it open to afford facilities, 
for filling. To prepare a dressing, put into a saucepan a little- 
lard with some stale bread previously soaked in water and squeezed 
as free of the water as possible; season with salt and pepper; 
keep it on the fire a little while and stir to prevent burning. 
Remove the saucepan from the stove, break 2 eggs into the dress¬ 
ing, and mix all well together; fill the roast and put into the 
oven. Baste frequently to keep juicy. 

Veal Scollops. —Cut veal from the leg or other lean part, 
into pieces about the size of an oyster. Season with pepper, salt 
and a small quantity of mace ; rub over each piece, dip in egg* 
then in cracker crumbs, and fry. 


310 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Veal Rolls.— The ingredients are a cold fillet of veal, egg 
and bread crumbs, and a few slices of fat bacon. Cut a few 
slices from the veal half an inch thick; rub them over with egg ; 
lay a thin piece of fat bacon over each piece of veal; apply the 
egg ; roll up each piece lightly; egg and bread crumb them and 
fry to a rich brown; serve with mushroom sauce or brown 
gravy. The frying of the rolls requires from 10 to 15 minutes. 

Boiled Tongue. —Soak 2 hours and run a skewer through 
the root of the tongues; tie a string around the points of the 
skewer and fasten it at the other end, giving the tongue the 
form of an arch. Boil about 3 hours; when done immerse in 
cold water and remove the outer skin. Renew the arch-like 
shape and lay between two dishes pressed by a weight. When 
cold, trim smooth and garnish with veal jellies; if hot, serve 
with spinach. 

Pigs’ Foot Cheese. —Boil hocks and feet, equal quan¬ 
tity, until the meat will fall freely from the bones ; season well 
with pepper and salt; put into a pan while hot and press it; cut 
in slices and serve with vinegar or Worcester sauce. It is a 
delicious dish if properly prepared. 

Veal Cutlets Breaded. —Dip the cutlets in beaten egg 
and then into fine bread crumbs, and fry in hot lard until 
thoroughly done. Take them up and make a nice brown gravy 
and pour over them. Garnish with parsley or horse radish and 
serve hot as possible. The gravy is decidedly better if made 
with cream or milk than with water. 

Pork and Beans, New York Style.— Having picked 
over and washed the beans, put them into a kettle of cold water. 
Have a bountiful supply of water so as to remove the strong 
flavor. Allow them to cook in this water for some time, but be 
particular to drain it off before the skins begin to crack. Before 
changing, add £ tablespoonful of baking soda to an ordinary pot 
of water. It should foam ; if not add a little more soda, stir the 
beans well, and when the foam ceases drain into a colander. 
The soda renders beans more digestible. Fill the pot with hot or 
boiling water, and return the beans. Allow them to cook in 
this water until the skins are broken. A little salt may be added 
unless the pork is salt enough. When both pork and beans are 


VEGETABLES AND SALADS. 


311 


sufficiently cooked, put them into a pan with the pork in the 
-centre, having scored the rind of the pork at intervals of one- 
half inch or less. Add some of the water the beans were cooked 
in ; reserve the balance until the beans are baked, so as to avoid 
adding clear water if more is required. Bake until the top of 
the pork is brown and crispy, and the beans are a light brown, 
but soft and moist inside. 


VEGETABLES AND SALADS. 

Care should be used to select fresh vegetables for table use. 
Those of medium size are generally preferable to the larger 
growths. Vegetables that are eaten in a green state, such as 
-cauliflowers, asparagus and cabbage, should be prepared for the 
table when fully fresh. Greens, roots and salads, when they 
have lost their freshness, may have it partially restored by keep¬ 
ing them in cold spring water for an hour or two before using. 
Green corn and peas should be prepared and cooked at once. 
Onions should be soaked in warm salt water for an hour before 
-cooking, which will tend to remove their rank flavor. Never split 
onions, carrots or turnips, but cut them crosswise, which will 
accelerate their cooking tenderly. 

Egg plants should be picked when full grown, but before they 
are ripe. A little sugar may be advantageously added to many 
kinds of vegetables, particularly peas and corn. Sweet pota¬ 
toes require longer to cook than the common variety. In gath¬ 
ering asparagus, never cut it off, but snap or break it, and 
you will leave the white fibrous part, which no boiling will make 
tender. Do the same with rhubarb, taking it close to the 
ground, and being careful that it does not split. 

Vegetables lose their flavor by being cooked with meat, while 
the latter is not at all improved. When they are to be served 
with salt meat the meat should be cooked first and removed and 
the vegetables cooked in the liquor, except in the case of a boiled 
dinner. A piece of red pepper about the size of a dime, dropped 
into vegetables when beginning to cook, will have the effect to 



312 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

destroy unpleasant odors, or a piece of bread crust will have 
much the same effect. This will be found serviceable when 
cabbage or onions are cooking. 

When green peas have become old and yellow, their quality 
may be improved by placing in the pot with them a small 
quantity of soda. Old potatoes may be somewhat improved in 
the same way. 

POTATOES. 

Old potatoes should stand in cold water for at least an hour or 
two, and should be put over the fire as soon as ready, as expos¬ 
ure to the air causes discoloration. To have them mealy, do not 
let them stop boiling for a moment, and when they are done 
turn the water off and let them steam a few moments over the 
fire with the cover removed. Or peel and put them in a pan 
over steam to cook. A little salt should always be thrown into- 
the kettle with boiling potatoes. The hotter they are when 
placed on the table the better. For new potatoes, the favorite 
manner of cooking generally is by baking. 

Fried Potatoes. —Cut into slices about the thickness of a 
twenty-five cent piece, and place them in cold water; drain on 
a cloth $ fry quickly in plenty of hot fat; dry well from the 
grease, and sprinkle with salt. When nicely done they make a- 
delicious dish. 

Or cut potatoes lengthwise, trim neatly and fry them. Cold 
potatoes may be cut in slices something less than an inch thick 
and fried in a similar manner. They can also be fried in onions 
as an accompaniment to pork chops or bacon. 

Potato Balls. —Bake the potatoes, mash them very nicely, 
make them into balls, rub over with the yolk of an egg, and 
put in an oven or before the fire to brown. They may be varied 
by the introduction of a portion of grated ham or tongue. 

Potato Puff. —To each 2 cups of mashed potatoes add 1 
tablespoonful of melted butter and beat to a cream; put with 
this 2 eggs, whipped light, and a cup of milk, properly salted. 
Beat all together, pour into a greased baking dish and bake 
quickly to a light brown. Serve in the dish in which they are< 
cooked. 


VEGETABLES AND SALADS. 313 

Sweet Potatoes. —The most palatable method—if not the 
only one—of cooking this favorite vegetable, is by roastino- or 
baking. ° 

CORN. 

Stewed Corn.— Stew a quart of sweet corn, setting the vessel 
containing it in an outer one of hot water. Should the corn be 
very dry, add a little cold water. When tender pour in enough 
milk to cover the corn, bring to a boil and put in a tablespoon¬ 
ful of butter rolled in flour, and salt to taste. Stew gently, stir¬ 
ring well, for 3 or 4 minutes, and turn into a deep dish. Keep 
the vessel closely covered while cooking. 

Succotash. Cut the corn from the cobs in quantity as may 
be desired ; mix with % the same quantity of Lima beans that 
have previously been cooking ^ hour, and cook £ hour in 
just enough water to cover them; add a cup of milk with 
a trifle of soda stirred in. When this boils, stir in a large 
spoonful of butter rolled in flour, season with pepper and salt,, 
and simmer 10 minutes longer. 

Hominy. —Boiled hominy is a favorite food for the breakfast 
table. It should be soaked in cold water over night, and boiled, 
for an hour with a little salt in the morning. 

TOMATOES. 

Baked Tomatoes. —Cut dozen tomatoes in halves,, 

remove the pips, and fill the insides with a mixture of bread 
crumbs, pepper and salt in due proportions ; place a small piece 
of butter on each half tomato and lay them close together in 
a well buttered tin; bake in a slow oven about \ hour, and 
serve. They may be eaten hot or cold. Another method is to 
sprinkle white sugar over sliced tomatoes and bake in an oven. 

Plain Stewed Tomatoes. —Peal and slice any number of 
fairly ripe tomatoes, put them in a tin dish, saucepan or clean 
iron kettle ; season with butter, salt and pepper ; cook 15 to 20 
minutes, stirring frequently. Ilse no water unless they become 
thick by evaporation. Just before serving thicken with stale 
bread or cracker crumbs. 

Raw Tomatoes. —By immersing in hot water the skins will 
peal off easily. Slice with a sharp knife, lay in a glass dish, and 
20 


314 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

pour over a dressing made thus : Rub a teaspoonful of sugar, 
half as much each of salt, pepper and made mustard ; beat into 
this the yolk of a raw egg, and then, a few drops at a time, 5 
tablespoonfuls of vinegar. 

MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLES. 

Fried Parsnips. —Boil until tender in hot water slightly 
salted ; let them get almost cold, scrape off the outside and cut 
in long, thick slices ; dredge with flour and fry in hot drippings 
or butter, turning as they brown ; drain dry in a hot colander; 
pepper and salt to taste. 

Green Peas.— Shell and put into salted boiling water with 
a small lump of white sugar; cook from 30 to 35 minutes; 
season with butter, pepper and salt, add milk or cream. The 
peas should be young and tender, and the water in which they 
are cooked should be retained and not drained off. 

Onions. —Onions are best when sliced and fried quickly in 
smoking hot fat, or roasted whole until tender, and served with 
butter, pepper and salt; or, taking those which are all small, 
carefully peel without breaking, brown in butter, and then sim¬ 
mer tender with just water enough to cover them. Or they may 
be boiled tender in water and then heated 5 minutes in nicely 
.seasoned cream. 

Cauliflower. —Boil a large cauliflower, tied in netting, in 
hot salted water from 25 to 30 minutes; drain and serve in a 
•deep dish with the flower upward, and pour over it a cup of 
drawn butter in which has been stirred the juice of a lemon and 
i teaspoonful of French mustard mixed up well with the sauce. 

Fried Apples. —Slice good, tart apples without peeling, 
taking out the cores, as far as practicable, while slicing; have 
nice salt pork fryings and lay the apples close together; cover 
until well steamed, then fry both sides brown, being careful to 
prevent their burning. It is a splendid dish, but liberal pro¬ 
vision should be made as to quantity, the volume being wonder¬ 
fully reduced by the frying process. 

Fried Egg-Plant. —Peel and slice to the thickness of \ 
inch, or at most not much thicker ; place the slices in layers, 
with fine Balt intervening, and leave them 15 or 20 minutes, and 


VEGETABLES AND SALADS. 


315 


then wipe them dry with a linen or cotton cloth; fry in egg 
batter, using fat composed of equal parts of butter and lard. 
Fry over a fairly brisk fire to a dark brown. 

To Boil Asparagus.— See that all grit is removed from 
the stalks, wash in cold water and tie up in bundles of 15 or 20 
.stalks each. Place a tablespoonful of salt in the water, which 
should be on the full boil; cook 20 minutes; drain thoroughly, 
steaming slightly after boiling. Serve on toast with a sauce of 
drawn butter, to which some cream may be added. 

Boiled Dinner. —Wash the meat thoroughly and put it over 
the fire in just enough water to cover it; as soon as it boils set 
the kettle upon the stove where it will boil very slowly; cook 
until almost tender, and put in the vegetables, first skimming 
the meat well. Put in the cabbage, quartered, the turnips cut 
in halves, together with potatoes. Parsnips and carrots may be 
added. Boil together until thoroughly done, adding a little 
salt before taking from the kettle; take up the vegetables in 
separate dishes, and, lastly, the meat. A soup plate or saucer 
turned upside down is useful to place in the bottom of the ket¬ 
tle to keep the meat from burning. 

Fried Oyster Plant. —Scrape the roots in cold water; boil 
until tender; drain, and when cold mash with a wooden spoon 
to a smooth paste, taking out all fibres; moisten with milk ; add 
1 tablespoonful of butter and \\ eggs for every cup of the oyster 
plant; beat the eggs light; make in round cakes; dredge with 
flour and fry brown. 

Baked Maccaroni. —Break ■£• pound of maccaroni into inch 
pieces and put into a saucepan of boiling water, letting it boil 
20 minutes, or until soft, but not broken ; add a little salt; drain 
and put into a well buttered dish a layer at a time, with plenty 
of cheese sprinkled over each layer, with pepper and butter to 
your taste. When the dish is full, pour over \ cup of milk or 
cream. Bake % hour and serve in the dish in which it is baked. 

Baked Squash. —Boil, drain, and mash in a hot colander. 
Season with pepper, salt and butter ; add a few spoonfuls milk 
and 2 beaten eggs. Pour into a buttered dish and bake to a light 
brown in a quick oven. 


316 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


SALADS. 

The constituents mainly used in salads are boiled asparagus,, 
boiled cauliflower, celery, onions, lettuce, etc. They should bo 
carefully prepared by washing in cold water, removing all grit 
and other foreign substances, and drying with a napkin, avoiding 
as far as possible the breaking or crushing of the leaves. The 
use of a knife should be avoided in the preparation as it tends to* 
destroy or impair the crispness. 

A favorite method of preparation consists of saturating the ; 
dressing with oil and seasoning with pepper and salt before 
adding the vinegar. If oil is not to be had, melted butter is a. 
good substitute. 

Mayonnaise Salad Dressing—Take the yolks of 2 ravr 
well-beaten eggs, season with cayenne pepper, salt and mustard, 
to the taste, then add, in as fine a stream as possible, olive oil, 
and stir constantly until the desired thickness and smoothness, 
are attained. Add vinegar, a little at a time, as you stir it.. 
Stir all together lightly with a fork and spoon. 

Asparagus Salad. —Wash and scrape the asparagus, boil 
soft in salt water, drain off the water, add pepper, salt and strong 
cider vinegar, and then cool. Before serving arrange asparagus 
so that the heads will lie in the centre of the dish. After remov¬ 
ing the vinegar from the fire mix it with good olive oil or melted 
butter, and pour over the asparagus. 

Chicken Salad. —Mince all the tender meat, light and 
dark, of a pair of boiled chickens ; chop all the white part of a- 
head of celery, with 1 or 2 young heads of lettuce, and mix with 
the chicken; make a dressing of the yolks of eggs, boiled 20 
minutes and rubbed smooth with a spoon. 

Potato Salad. —Boil the potatoes in the skins, peel, cut 
into pieces twice the thickness of a fifty cent piece and put them 
in a salad bowl; add to them a teaspoon of salt, that quantity 
of pepper, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 3 or 4 of oil and a teaspoon 
of chopped celery or pickles, onions, anchovies or olives. 

Oyster Salad. —Steam 1 quart oysters until tender ; take 
1 pint celery after it is cut fine with a sharp knife, and make a 
good rich dressing. Put oysters and celery upon ice until serv- 


POULTRY, GAME AND FISH. 


31T 


ing time, drain the celery in a colander, and mix lightly before 
pouring the dressing over them. Garnish with leaves of celery. 

Gold Slaw. —Slice on a cutter as fine as possible, and dress 
simply with salt, vinegar and plenty of olive oil, mixing thor¬ 
oughly. This should be dressed at the table when ready to 
serve. The oil may be left out and sugar substituted. 

Lobster Salad. —Pick the meat from the shell,, cut into 
nice square pieces, cut up some lettuce, and mix. Make a dress¬ 
ing of 4 tablespoonfuls of oil, 2 of vinegar, 1 of mustard, the 
yolks of 2 eggs, and pepper and salt to taste. Rub smooth 
together, forming a creamy looking sauce, and cover the lobster 
with it. 


POULTRY, GAME AND FISH. 

There is one never-failing method of determining a young 
chicken. If young and tender the bottom of the breast bone 
will be soft and yielding. With fine chickens that are particu¬ 
larly tender the end of this bone will feel much like a cartilage. 
If stiff and hard, and “ giving no sign ” of yielding, the chicken 
has seen its best days. Give the preference to chickens of a 
yellowish cast. The “oldest inhabitant” usually makes his 
appearance in the shape of a goose. In a young scion of this 
genus the cavity under the wings is very tender ; if you cannot 
readily push your finger in the flesh at this point the bird cannot 
be expected to satisfactorily fill the bill. There is another 
method by which an opinion may be formed, even though Jack 
Frost may have had the goose in his cold embrace: Pass the 
head of a pin along the breast or side, and if it is yet in the 
bloom of youth the skin will rip like fine paper under a knife. 
Something may be judged by the thickness of the web between 
the toes. When young, this is tender and semi-transparent; it 
grows coarser and harder with the lapse of years. 

PREPARING AND COOKING POULTRY. 

Do not feed poultry for twenty-four hours previous to killing. 
Cut off the head with a sharp knife or axe and allow it to hang 
neck downward until the blood has ceased to drip. Scald well 



318 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


by dipping in hot water, taking care not to overdo the scalding,, 
or the feathers will be hard to pluck. When the bird is carefully 
picked remove all the fine feathers with a knife ; singe, but not 
smoke, with blazing paper, place on a board and with a sharp- 
knife cut off the legs at the knee joint; remove the oil bag above 
the tail; take out the crop, taking care to be thorough ; cut the 
neck bone off close to the body ; carefully remove all the intes¬ 
tines, being particular not to burst the gall bag; trim off the- 
fat; wash the fowl thoroughly in cold water twice and carefully 
dry; hang up to drain, and all is ready for cooking. 

For a roast, make the dressing and fill the breast first, but not 
too full; stuff the body rather fuller than the breast; sew up 
both openings with strong thread, and sew the skin of the neck 
down upon the breast, not forgetting to remove the threads before 
sending to the table. Lay the points of the wings under the 
back and fasten them with a skewer run through both wings, 
or tie down with a piece of twine; press the legs as closely 
toward the body as possible, and fasten with a skewer run through 
the body and both thighs, or tie with twine. Then rub thor¬ 
oughly with salt and pepper. 

Chickens and turkeys are dressed and prepared much in the 
same manner. Those that are a little tough are greatly improved 
by a few moments* steaming before roasting or boiling. The 
“giblets,” after careful washing and soaking in salt and water,, 
are cooked and then minced fine, or they may be cooked and 
served with the fowl. For the gravy they give a peculiarly fine 
relish. 

When very young chickens are to be baked or broiled, they 
should be cut open at the side of the backbone, pressed apart, 
cleaned as above, and placed on the gridiron or dripping-pan 
with the meat side down and buttered, or a teaspoonful of 
butter may be put in small bits over the breast. 

For a roast, place in an oven rather hot at first and graduated 
to a moderate heat until done. In testing, insert a fork between 
the thighs and body; if the juice is watery and not bloody, 
it is done. Fowls are roasted upon dripping-pans with a wire 
rack or small rings placed on the bottom. Some cooks put fowls 
to roast in a dry pan, using the drippings for basting, and others 
put in a little water. In roasting a turkey, allow 20 minutes to 


319 


POULTRYj GAME AND FISH. 

the pound and 20 minutes extra. If poultry is not served as 
soon as it is done, it may be kept hot without drying up by 
placing over boiling water and laying a dripping-pan over it. 

In broiling chickens, it is generally found difficult to do the 
inside of the thickest pieces without scorching the outside. They 
may be parboiled about 10 minutes in a sauce-pan closely 
covered to retain the steam, then putting them upon the grid¬ 
iron, broiling and buttering, covering with a plate while over 
the fire. They should be basted with the water in which they 
were parboiled, and the residue will be found good to mix with 
melted butter to pour over the chicken. The greater the expe¬ 
dition in broiling the better will be the dish. 

One hour is sufficient time for an ordinary sized chicken to 
roast. A brisk fire is better than a slow one, but care must 
always be taken. Slices of bread buttered, salted and peppered, 
and laid inside the fowl, are nice. 

Chickens should be boiled about an hour, or longer if old, in 
as small a quantity of water as possible. Have the water hot 
unless wanted for soup, in which case put them in cold. Skim 
at the first boiling up and keep just above the boiling point, but 
the boiling should be gentle, not violent. A very little vinegar 
added to the water in which fowls are boiled is calculated to 
make them rather more tender. The bones of a fowl should 
never be broken, but separated at the joints. The marrow lin¬ 
ing of the bones imparts a bitter taste in eating. The garnishes 
for turkey, chicken and duck are slices of lemon, horseradish, 
fried sausage or force-meat balls, parsley, fried oysters and thin 
slices of ham. 

Dressing for Chicken or Turkey.—For one chicken, 
take 2 cups finely crumbed stale bread, J cup finely chopped 
beef suet, 2 tablespoonfuls chopped parsley, 1 teaspoonful each 
of thyme and marjoram, a small amount of lemon peel and 
grated nutmeg; moisten with beaten egg, salt and pepper to> 
the taste. It will take double the quantity for a turkey, and it 
is equally good for veal. Another method is to take dry pieces 
of bread or crackers, chop fine, add a small piece butter or a. 
little cream, with sage, pepper and salt, 1 egg and a small quan¬ 
tity of flour, moistened with milk. 


320 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD, 

Camp Method of Cooking Fowls. —Kill the fowl and 
carefully remove all the entrails and crop; be careful not to 
remove or disturb the feathers; stuff the fowl and wrap it in wet 
brown paper and roast in hot ashes as you would potatoes. The 
time consumed in this will depend upon the size and the kind 
of the fowl. Care is necessary, both to prevent it from burning 
and to insure its being well done. Take out of the embers and 
unroll carefully; remove the feathers and skin together ; place 
upon a large dish and carry to the table. . Those who have tried 
it speak enthusiastically of its sweetness. 

Chicken Cheese. —Boil two chickens in barely water enough 
to make them tender; take them out when done and remove all 
the bones; mince the meat very fine ; season with salt, pepper 
and butter, and return the fowls to the water in which they were 
boiled ; cook until the liquor has nearly all disappeared; pour 
into a deep dish, covered with a plate ; put on a weight and set 
away in a cool place. When ready to be eaten, cut in slices and 
it will be found as firm as cheese. It is a nice dish for any 
occasion. 

Fried Chicken. —Fry a few fat slices of pork until the fat 
is extracted, but not until they become browned. Cut up a young 
chicken; wash, wipe dry, season with pepper, dredge with flour 
and fry in the hot fat to a rich brown. Set aside in a hot, cov¬ 
ered dish. Add to the gravy left in the pan a cup of cream; 
thicken with a tablespoonful of flour, the same quantity of but¬ 
ter, and add a little chopped parsley; boil and pour over the 
chicken. 

Chicken Pie. —Cut up the chicken, parboil it, season it in 
the pot, take up the meat, put in a flour thickening, and scald 
the gravy; make the crust of sour milk sweetened with soda ; 
put in a piece of butter or lard the size of an egg. Take a large 
tin pan, line it with the crust, put in the meat and pour in the 
gravy from the pot; make it nearly full, cover it over with crust, 
and leave a vent; bake in a moderate oven 2 to 2J- hours. 

Southern Chicken Croquettes.— Cut the flesh from the 
bones of some cold chicken ; add a little suet, parsley, sweet mar¬ 
joram and grated lemon peel, and mince fine; season with pep¬ 
per, salt and nutmeg; after all has been well mixed, pound to a 


POULTRY, GAME AND FISH. 


321 


paste in a marble mortar, putting in a little at a time and moist¬ 
ening occasionally with yolk of egg that has been beaten. Then 
divide in equal portions, and having floured your hands, make it 
up in the shape of pears, sticking the head of a clove into the 
bottom of each to represent the blossom end, and the stock of a 
clove into the top to resemble the slem. Dip in beaten yolk of 
-egg, with a little water, and then into bread crumbs grated fine, 
and fry in lard like fritters. Fry some parsley in the lard, cover 
the bottom of a dish with it, lay the croquettes upon it and send 
to table as a side dish. 

Baked Duck. —As a preliminary, a duck should first be boiled 
until tender; when tender, take out, rinse, stuff with dressing 
same as for a goose, and put in the oven for about J of an hour, 
basting frequently. 

Boast Goose. —The goose should be parboiled unless it is 
tender. Make a dressing of bread crumbs, onions and potatoes 
cut fine. Season with pepper, salt, sage and butter, using of the 
latter an amount about equal in size to an egg. Fill the goose 
und tie down the wings; roast 2-J hours. Boil the liver and 
heart and add to the gravy, which must be thickened with flour. 
Send to the table with apple sauce and mashed potatoes. 

Roast Turkey. —Wash, dry and stuff with a dressing of 
stale bread, soaked in water, pressed out and mixed with salt, 
pepper, thyme, butter and an egg. Sew up the turkey and put 
into a pan with a little water ; roast slowly, allowing 3 hours for 
a 10 pound turkey. When commencing to brown, rub over with 
butter to keep the skin from blistering; boil giblets in water, to 
be chopped for the gravy. 

Boned Turkey. —Cut the back longitudinally, and raising 
one side at a time with the fingers, separate the flesh from the 
bones. Unjoint the wings and legs from the body, and, cutting 
through to the bone, turn back the flesh and remove the bones. 
When so removed the flesh may be re-shaped by stuffing. Stuff 
with force-meat made of cold lamb or veal and a little pork 
chopped fine and seasoned with salt, pepper, sage (or savory), 
.and the juice of 1 lemon; sew into shape, pressing the wings 
close to the back and turning the ends under, and tie all firmly 
,so that the upper surface may be plump and smooth for the 


322 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

carver. Bake until thoroughly done, basting frequently with 
salt water and a little butter. Carve across in slices and serve 
with jelly, cranberries, or tomato sauce. 

Turkey Patties. —Mince part of the breast, season with 
salt, nutmeg and grated lemon. 

GAME. 

The choice of game calls for the exercise not only of judgment 
and discrimination but experience as well. In order to enjoy its 
full flavor and make it tender, it should be kept awhile before it 
is dressed. Some people keep game until decomposition has 
actually begun, which is a peculiarity of taste hardly to be com¬ 
mended. In choosing ducks, be careful to secure those with 
plump bellies and thick and yellowish feet. In choosing tur¬ 
keys, the hen turkey is to be preferred, on account of its supe¬ 
rior whiteness and tenderness. The choicest partridges will be 
found with dark colored bills and yellowish legs. Young hares, 
may be known by their smooth and sharp claws, while the cleft 
in the lip will be but little spread comparatively. It is better to 
let them hang awhile without being paunched, but should it be 
emptied early, wipe the inside daily and sprinkle therein a little 
ginger or pepper, or both. In selecting a goose, choose one with 
a clean, white skin, plump breast and yellow feet. 

Birds should be carefully dry-picked, removing all feathers 
that come off easily, and then plunged into a pot of boiling 
water and skinned, drawn, wiped clean, and all shot removed. 
Game should not be washed unless absolutely necessary to assure 
cleanliness, and then should be washed quickly, using as little 
water as possible. The more plainly game is cooked the finer 
the flavor. It requires rather more heat than poultry, but cooks 
quicker, and should be always served hot. White-meated game 
requires more cooking than dark. 

The peculiar game flavor of the larger birds, such as prairie 
chickens, may be removed by soaking over night in salt water, 
or by soaking 2 or 3 hours in soda and water; or parboil with 
an onion or two in the water and then cook according to fancy. 
Geese and ducks may lie in salt water for several hours, or a 
fresh peeled lemon may be put inside for a day or two, renewing 
the lemon every 10 hours. This is calculated to insure the 
absorption of unpleasant flavors. 


POULTRY, GAME AND FISH 


32 3 


Squirrels should be carefully skinned and laid in salt water a 
short time before cooking; if old, parboil. They are quite 
savory when broiled and are nice made into a stew, or cooked 
with thin slices of bacon. 

Venison is a pretty general favorite. The haunch, neck, shoul¬ 
der and saddle should be roasted ; the breast roasted or boiled, 
and the steaks broiled or fried with slices of bacon or salt pork. 
It requires more time for cooking than beef steak. 

Dried or roasted bread, slices of lemon, with parsley and cur¬ 
rant jelly, are good garnishes for small game; for wild ducks, 
etc., cranberry or apple sauce, sliced oranges and parsley. 

To Lard Game. —After cleaning and washing, cut fat salt 
pork into small strips ; thread a larding needle with one of the 
strips, run the needle under the skin with a little of the flesh of 
the bird and draw the pork half way through. The strips should 
be about one inch apart. The larding tends to impair the 
flavor, although making the meat juicy, and many prefer tying 
a piece of bacor^m the breast instead. 

To Broil Game. —Epicures have ever been partial to this 
method of cooking game, especially the smaller descriptions. 
The primitive way was by laying upon coals or roasting before a 
hot fire, for which the gridiron is now generally substituted. 

To broil, split down the back; open and flatten the breast by 
covering with a cloth and pounding; season with pepper, and lay 
the inside first upon the gridiron. Turn as soon as browned, 
and when almost done, take off; place on a platter, sprinkle with 
salt and return to the gridiron. When done place on a hot dish, 
butter both sides well and serve at once. The time required is 
about 20 minutes. 

To Roast Game. —Season with salt and pepper, place a 
lump of butter or a little pork inside; truss, skewer and place 
in oven. The flavor is best preserved without dressing, but 
many prefer a plain bread dressing, or a few oysters for that pur¬ 
pose. Or, place the fowl with an onion, salt and hot water, 
into a pan and baste for 10 or 15 minutes ; change the pan ; put 
in a slice of salt pork, and baste with butter and pork drippings ; 
dredge lightly with flour and again baste. Ducks take about 
30 minutes to roast, and woodcock and snipe about 20. A 
good way to roast prairie chickens, quails, etc., is to clean nicely. 


'324 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

rinse and dry, sewing them up and binding down the legs and 
wings. Cook in a steamer over hot water, then place in a pan 
with a little butter, set in the oven and baste with melted but¬ 
ter until a nice brown, a process requiring about 15 minutes. 
.Serve on a platter with sprigs of parsley alternately with cur¬ 
rant jelly. 

Cooking Pigeons. —Pigeons may be roasted, stewed or 
potted. Than the latter there can be no finer way if properly 
done. After thorough picking and cleaning put a small piece 
of salt pork and a little ball of dressing into the body of the 
pigeon. The dressing should be made of 1 egg for each cracker, 
.an 3qual quantity of suet or butter, seasoned with sweet marjo¬ 
ram or sage. Flour the pigeons well and lay them closely in the 
bottom of the pot, just covered with water; throw in a bit of 
butter and let them stew 1J hours if young, J hour longer if old. 
>Stewed pigeons are treated in nearly the same manner, omitting 
The stuffing. Being naturally a dry meat, they require consider¬ 
able butter. 

The age of pigeons can be determined by the color of the legs. 
When young they are of a pale, delicate brown; as they grow 
older the color becomes deeper, inclining to a red. 

Roast Ducks. —Wipe dry inside and out and stuff with 
bread crumbs, seasoned with pepper and salt, a very little 
powdered sage, and a trifle of onion. Sew up, dash over the 
bird a cup of boiling water, and roast, covered for the first 
hour ; remove the cover and baste freely, 3 times with butter 
tmd water, and 4 or 5 times with the gravy. Stew the giblets in 
a little salted water and make into a gravy. Serve on a hot 
flatter. 

Broiled Squirrels. —Clean and soak in cold water; wipe 
dry and broil on a gridiron over a clear, hot fire, turning fre¬ 
quently ; when done lay in a hot dish and dress with plenty of 
melted butter, pepper and salt, and let them lie between two 
hot dishes for 5 minutes. 

Roast ’Possum. —If the stirring air of “ Dixie” appeals 
to southern sentiment and moves the breast with a thrill of en¬ 
thusiasm, Roast * Possum holds no less a place as the favorite at 
the Southern board. But if the first suggests warlike memories, 
The comparison here stops short, for the opossum is essentially a 


POULTRY, GAME AND FISH. 


325- 


non-combatant. Give him a box on the ear and he will “play 
' possum '' as only a ' possum can, and betray no sign of life until 
he finds a peaceful rest in the baking pan, when it is a reason¬ 
able presumption that, secure from observation in the closed oven, 
he winks at least once, to satisfy himself of the situation. And 
if “ Dixie ” be an air in which chivalry loves to pay its tribute to 
beauty in the evening serenade by the mellow moonlight, catch¬ 
ing 'possum under like conditions is a favorite pastime with the 
darkies, whose highest ecstasy is attained in Possum up a 
gum-tree." But however the pursuits and tastes of the two races, 
may otherwise vary, all concur in their estimate of roast 9 possum 
garnished with sweet potatoes. 

To roast a 9 possum, first catch the 9 possum. Dress it and soak 
in salt and water from 6 to 12 hours, then parboil in salt water 
for \ to £ of an hour ; if an old animal it requires a longer boil¬ 
ing and roasting than a young one. Prepare a dressing the same 
as for a turkey or chicken, of which oysters may form an ingre¬ 
dient, as the dressing should be rich and savory ; stuff, sew up 
and place in the baking pan, the same as a turkey, with a little 
water. Place in the oven for 15 or 20 minutes in the meantime 
partially boil some sweet potatoes; remove the pan from the 
oven, pour off the liquor in a dish in which it can be kept hot, 
and lay the sweet potatoes closely round the 9 possum in the pan ; 
cut some slices of bacon and lay them across the 'possum and 
on the potatoes; use the liquor that was turned off for two or 
three bastings, basting both the ' possum and the sweet potatoes, 
until it is all returned to the pan. Let bake for an hour or more, 
according to the age and size of the 'possum. 

Boast ’ Coon. —The raccoon should first be soaked in strong 
salt and water from 8 to 10 hours, and it is also desirable to have- 
the carcass frozen. It should be parboiled from 1 hour to 1^ 
hours, and a dessertspoonful of soda or saleratus should be put 
into the water. The time required for roasting, both in the case 
of the opossum and the raccoon, depends somewhat on circum¬ 
stances, and the judgment of the cook must determine when they 
are ready for the table. Irish potatoes are a good accompaniment 
to the raccoon. 

The season, both for the opossum and raccoon, is from about- 
the first of November to the first of March. 


326 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Bear Meat. —Bear meat requires a longer time for cooking 
than almost any other kind; it should be cooked thoroughly 
done. It may be roasted like pork or buffalo meat, or sliced into 
.steaks and broiled or fried. 

Haunch of Venison. —Wash with lukewarm water and 
vinegar ; rub well with butter or lard. Cover the top and side 
with foolscap paper, well greased, and coat it with a paste of 
flour and water half an inch fc thick. Lay over this a large sheet 
of thin wrapping paper, and over this another of stout foolscap. 
Tie all down with pack-thread. The papers should all be thor¬ 
oughly greased, and it would be well to do this the day before 
they are to be used. About three hours before the roast will Le 
needed, put into the dripping pan with 2 cups boiling water in 
the bottom. Place another pan over it to keep in the steam ; be 
sure that the fire is good, and leave it to itself for an hour. 
Then see that the paper is not scorching ; wet it with hot water 
and a ladleful of gravy; cover it and let it alone for hours 
longer. Kemove the papers and paste and test with a skewer 
in the thickest part. If it goes in readily close the door and let 
it brown for J hour. Baste freely four times with wine and but¬ 
ter, and at last dredge with flour and rub over with butter to 
make a froth. Take it up and put it upon a hot dish. Skim the 
gravy left in the dripping pan, strain it, thicken with brown 
flour, add 2 teaspoonfuls of currant jelly, a glass of wine, pepper 
and salt, letting them boil for an instant. Allow J hour to the 
pound in roasting. The neck can be used in the same way and 
according to the same rule as to the time required for roasting. 

Woodcock. —Tie the legs, skin the head and neck, turn the 
beak under the wing and tie it, tie over it a piece of bacon and 
immerse in hot fat for 2 or 3 minutes. Serve on toast. Or split 
through the back and broil, basting with butter and serving on 
toast. They may also be roasted whole before the fire for 15 or 
20 minutes. 

Pot Pie. —A pot pie is made of squirrel, chicken, veal, etc. 
Boil the meat half done and add 4 or 5 slices of pork, cut thin, 
and let boil, adding also a little salt; prepare the crust as for 
biscuit—baking powder, with sweet milk, is best for the purpose ; 
roll out about \ inch thick, and cut in any convenient form for 
handling; when the meat is cooked very nearly done, see that 


POULTRY, GAME AND FISH. 


327 


there is a good supply of liquor in the pot, lay in the crust, 
sprinkle the top freely with pepper, cover the pot closely and let 
boil 20 to 30 minutes. Then lift the crust out on to a platter 
with a spoon (don't stick a fork into it much), and take out the 
meat also ; put a lump of butter half the size of a hen's egg in¬ 
to the liquor, take a tablespoonful of flour, rub it into a thin bat¬ 
ter, pour into the pot, and stir until cooked to a fairly thick 
gravy. Pour part of the gravy on to the crust and put the bal¬ 
ance into a gravy dish. When fowls are used that are very fat 
the oil should be removed from the top of the liquor before put¬ 
ting the crust in. 

Frogs.—To cook frogs, prepare fat composed of equal parts 
■of butter and lard ; dip the frogs into an egg batter and fry over 
a moderately brisk fire to a dark brown. Only the hind quarters 
are used. 

FISH. 

The fresher fish are when cooked, the better. The white 
descriptions are the least nutritious, and the oily the most diffi¬ 
cult of digestion. Most kinds of fresh fish are best in cold 
weather. They can be preserved for quite a period of time by 
sprinkling with sugar, a process which serves to impart a pecu¬ 
liarly agreeable flavor to some kinds, especially whitefish and sal¬ 
mon. Sugar is also a splendid ingredient in pickling fish. Dishes 
in this department of gastronomic art should be cooked thor¬ 
oughly. Baking and frying are the most palatable methods. 

To take off the muddy smell and taste peculiar to many fish, 
soak them in strong salt and water after cleaning. When boiled 
they should be put into the water while cold and set to do very 
gently, or the outside will break before the inner part is done. 
Small fish nicely fried, covered with egg and crumbs, make a 
dish far more elegant and excellent than if prepared plain. In 
broiling, season, flavor and put on a gridiron, which, when hot, 
should be rubbed with a piece of suet to avoid sticking. There 
should be a good fire, and care should be taken to prevent scorch¬ 
ing. It is decidedly important in serving fish to have everything 
hot and quickly dished so that all may go to the table at once. 

For dressing for fresh fish generally, soak bread crumbs in water, 
and when they become soft press out the water. Fry 2 table¬ 
spoonfuls minced onion in butter; add the bread, some chopped 


328 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

parsley, a tablespoonful of chopped suet, pepper and salt; let it 
cook a moment, and take off the fire and add an egg. 

Frizzled Cod. —Codfish cut in slices and wrapped around 
with greased paper, then placed in a covered pan just greased, 
and either put in the oven or on top of the stove and frizzled 
until done, *is a nice dish. 

To Cook Eels. —Eels stewed in a plain sauce are nice if not 
too fat. Make the sauce with hot butter, flour and warm water; 
add a little vinegar, some peppercorns and a clove or two, also a 
finely chopped onion. Place the eels, cut in pieces, into the 
sauce, cover and let simmer about 20 minutes. 

Brook Trout. —The limpid mountain streams of California 
and our Pacific coast generally afford the finest brook trout to be 
found anywhere. 

In cooking trout, the most prevalent fault is in overdoing them. 
They should never be done to a crisp or anything approximating 
thereto. It will hardly do to cook them with pork. If they are 
to be fried, use butter quite hot, and use no egg or batter. Try 
them with a fork. If they are to be broiled, wrap them up in a 
piece of glazed paper, well buttered; sprinkle sparingly with 
salt and pepper; use lemon juice over them. Many prefer a 
boiled trout to one either fried or broiled. It is flaky, like sal¬ 
mon, and should not be overdone. Use cold water, slightly salted, 
which may be brought up to the boil; serve with plain melted 
butter. Trout are sometimes baked. 

Baked Whitefish. —Clean, rinse, and wipe dry; rub inside 
and out with salt and pepper ; fill with dressing similar to that 
for poultry, but rather drier; sew up and place in a hot pan 
with some drippings and a lump of butter; dredge with flour 
and lay over the fish a few thin slices of salt pork or bits of 
butter ; bake l£ hours, basting occasionally. Serve with sliced 
hard-boiled eggs. 

Boiled Codfish. —Soak over night; put in a pan of cold 
water and simmer 2 or 3 hours. Serve with drawn butter, and 
have hard-boiled eggs sliced over the fish. 

Broiled Mackerel. —Cut a slit in the back to ensure thor¬ 
ough cooking. Lay on the gridiron, having greased the bars, 
over a clear but not very brisk fire; sprinkle with pepper and 
salt. When thoroughly done on both sides, take up and place 


POULTRY, GAME AND FISH. 


329 


on a very hot dish. Rub a bit of butter over the fish and put 
inside a little fennel and parsley, scalded and chopped, and 
seasoned with pepper and salt and a little fresh butter. 

Fish Cakes.— Take cold boiled cod, either fresh or salt, add 
f as much hot mashed potatoes as there is fish, a little butter, 2 
or 3 well beaten eggs, with enough milk to make a smooth paste, 
season with pepper, make into nice round cakes and fry brown 
in sweet beef drippings or very clear lard. 

Scalloped Fish, —Take a pound of codfish, pour boiling- 
water over and soak until fresh ; pick to pieces and put into a, 
saucepan with boiling water, let boil for 10 minutes, strain off 
the water and let cool. Make a sauce of \ pint of milk, a lump 
of butter of the size of an egg, a tablespoonful each of flour and 
Worcestershire sauce, and a little .cayenne pepper; let boil; 
spread a layer of fish in a deep dish, cover with sauce, next a 
layer of fish, then sauce, and so on alternately until the dish is 
full; grate a slice of hard bread, spread over the top and cover 
with sauce, put in the oven and brown. 

Fish Mayonnaise. —Cut 1 pound of cold boiled halibut,, 
rock, or codfish into pieces 1 inch in length. Mix a dressing as- 
follows : The yolks of 4 hard-boiled eggs rubbed to a smooth, 
paste with salad oil; add to these salt, pepper, mustard, 2 tea¬ 
spoonfuls white sugar, and lastly 6 tablespoonfuls good vinegar; 
beat the mixture until light, and just before serving stir in the 
frothed white of 1 egg. Pour over the fish half the dressing 
with 6 tablespoonfuls vinegar, and spread the rest of the dressing 
over the top and lay blanched lettuce leaves around. 

SHELL FISH. 

In choosing shell oysters, be sure to select those with firmly 
closed shells. If the shells are open, the oysters are dead, and 
of course unfit for food. The largest sized oysters are regarded 
by epicures as fit only for stewing and sauces, although many 
persons are so impressed with the magnitude of their dimensions 
as to give them a decided preference for all uses. 

Oysters Fried. —Make a batter of eggs, flour and milk, 
season moderately, dip the oysters into it and fry to a fine yellow 
brown. A little nutmeg is often put into the seasoning, and a 
few crumbs of bread into the flour. 

21 


.330 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Oysters Broiled. —Select large oysters, wipe them dry, 
sprinkle salt and cayenne pepper upon them and broil. If desir¬ 
able to have them brown they may be dredged with flour or bis¬ 
cuit dust. Broil quickly and dish hot, placing a bit of butter 
of about the size of a pea upon each oyster. 

Oyster Soup. —Take 1 can oysters, 1 pint water and 1 pint 
milk. Put the milk and water over the stove in a porcelain 
kettle; when boiling, add the liquor from the oysters; let it 
come to a boil and add slowly 1 teacupful of crackers rolled very 
fine ; put in the oysters and let them boil from 2 to 3 minutes. 
Add salt and butter to the taste after the soup has been placed 
in the tureen. Butter should not be too sparingly used. Pep¬ 
per should be shaken over from the top just before going to the 
table. Serve very hot. 

Oyster Pie.— Place 1 can of oysters, with the liquor, in the 
bottom o'f a pan. Put a strong teacup in the middle of the pan, 
bottom upward; season with salt, pepper and small lumps of 
butter; pour in 2 or 3 spoonfuls hot water; take from 4 to 6 
“hard boiled eggs and slice over the oysters ; make a short crust, 
roll about an inch thick and put over the top of the oysters ; cut 
a small slit over the top of the cup, not large enough to let the 
cup through, and bake until the crust is done. There is no bot¬ 
tom crust. 

Oysters Scalloped. —Take for this favorite dish the proper 
quantity of crumbs of bread, salt, nutmeg and butter, of the latter 
a moderate allowance. Place them with the oysters in scallop 
shells or saucers, or in a pan of suitable size, and bake in an 
oven, or, better still, in a Dutch oven. For an accompaniment 
no kind of choice preserved or prepared fruit will come amiss. 

Clam Chowder. —Take 25 clams, \ pound of pork, 4 
medium sized potatoes, 4 teaspoonfuls minced onions, 6 sliced 
tomatoes and 2 pilot biscuits ; season to taste. Cut the pork in 
small slices and lay in the bottom of a stew-pan ; add a layer of 
potatoes in slices, next a layer of chopped onions, and then one 
of tomatoes, sliced or canned. Repeat until you have a suffi¬ 
cient quantity; season each layer with salt and pepper ; thyme, 
bay leaves and cloves may be added to suit the taste. Pour over 
this the strained liquor of the clams and sufficient water to cover. 


EGGS, OMELETS AND TOAST. 


331 


;Set on a slow fire, and when half done add the clams (after chop¬ 
ping them), and the broken biscuits. Boil fast about 25 min¬ 
utes longer. 

Escalloped Clams. —Butter a tin dish ; put in a layer of 
grated bread or cracker crumbs, sprinkle in pepper and bits of 
butter; put in a layer of clams chopped fine, with butter and 
pepper, and repeat with alternate layers of crumbs and clams 
until the desired quantity has been prepared, letting the last 
layer be of crumbs with plenty of butter on top. Put a plate 
•over it after adding 1 cup of rich milk, and bake £ hour. Take 
.off the plate long enough for the top to become nicely browned 
before serving. 

Boiled Lobster. —Choose a lively one of only moderate 
size, lest it prove too tough a customer. Put a handful of salt 
into a pot of boiling water, and having tied the claws together 
plunge the lobster in. Boil from J hour to an hour, as the size 
may seem to demand. When done, draw out and lay it face 
downward in a sieve to dry. When cold, split open the body 
and tail, and crack the claws to extract the meat. 

Lobster Croquettes. —To the meat of a well boiled lobster 
-chopped fine, add pepper, salt, and mace if desired; mix with 
this £ as much bread crumbs, well rubbed, as you have meat; 
make it into pointed balls, with 2 tablespoonfuls of melted but¬ 
ter ; roll these in beaten eggs, then in cracker dust, and fry in 
butter or sweet lard. Serve dry and hot, and garnish with crisp 
parsley. 


EGGS, OMELETS AND TOAST. 

There are many forms in which eggs can be cooked, either 
alone or as a component of some relishable dish. Eggs and 
toast are both easily prepared articles of diet, and a study of how 
to serve these and other simple dishes will give variety and 
attractiveness to the table, simplify the labor of cooking, and 
frequently suggest to the housekeeper how to prepare a meal at 
times when material for the more substantial articles seems 
wanting. 



332 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


EGGS. 

Baked Eggs. —Beat up six eggs, 1 teaspoonful flour, 6 of 
sweet milk ; melt a piece of butter in the frying pan ; when hot, 
turn the whole in and bake in a very hot oven ; to be served as 
soon as done. 

Poached Eggs. —Have a little boiling water ready, with 
vinegar, pepper corns and salt. Break the eggs whole, and when 
done serve on toast. 

Scrambled Eggs. —Beat the eggs, with salt and pepper to 
taste; put in butter in the proportion of 1 ounce to 4 eggs; 
when melted put in the eggs, stirring constantly with a spoon 
until they are nearly done, adding a little finely minced parsley 
at the last. 

OMELETS. 

Bread Crumb Omelet. —One pint of bread crumbs, a 
handful of chopped parsley, a slice of onion minced fine and a 
teaspoonful of dried marjoram. Mix well, beat 2 eggs with a. 
teaspoonful of milk, a piece of butter as large as an egg, with, 
pepper and salt to taste, and stir in the other ingredients. Bake 
in a well buttered pan in a slow oven till the omelet is of a light 
brown color, then turn it on a dish and serve on a hot plate. 

Egg Omelet. —Break 4 or 5 eggs in a bowl—the number in 
the family must determine the size of the omelet. Beat slightly 
until they dip up in spoonfuls of even liquid ; add a little 
minced parsley, salt and pepper, heat the omelet pan and drop 
in a piece of sweet butter. As soon as it is hot pour in the ome¬ 
let, rinsing it from the bowl with a spoonful of cream turned 
over it in the pan. 

TOAST. 

Fried Milk Toast. —Dip slices of bread in milk, wetting 
both sides; have some butter in a hot frying-pan and fry the; 
bread to a delicate brown. 

Ham Toast. —Mince lean ham very fine; to pint add the 
yolks of 2 eggs and cream or soup enough to soften ; cook for 10 
minutes, stirring all the time. Serve on toasted bread hot. 

Milk Toast, —Cut slices of bread very thin ; toast quickly 
to a light brown; butter and pile in a deep dish; cover with 
rich boiling milk. Let it stand a few minutes and serve. 


COFFEE, TEA AND CHOCOLATE. 


333 


Cheese and Egg Toast. —Put a cup of cheese crumbs 
into \ pint of rich milk ; boil until it melts. Have 2 eggs well 
beaten. Season the milk with salt, pepper and butter. Turn 
in the eggs, stir rapidly for a few minutes; remove from the 
fire and spread over hot slices of toasted bread. Cut in halves 
.and quarters and serve on a hot platter. 


COFFEE, TEA AND CHOCOLATE. 

Warm drinks at meals can be no less healthful because warm, 
than warm food. There are differences of opinion as to the san¬ 
itary effects of coffee and tea, but they are articles that enter 
into general consumption, and it is the purpose in this connec¬ 
tion to tell how to prepare them, rather than to discuss them 
from a sanitary point of view. This caution however may be 
given, that both tea and coffee are greatly adulterated, and con¬ 
sumers will wisely look to it. 

COFFEE AND TEA. 

The best coffee is made by a mixture of Java and Mocha. 
Where two kinds of coffee of a different sized berry are used, they 
should be browned separately, and they are best browned and at 
once ground for immediate use. The two recipes below are for 
Java and Mocha, equal parts. Grind tolerably fine; 3 table¬ 
spoonfuls will make 4 cups of strong coffee. The coffee pot 
(and in the second recipe the bag or sack also), should be 
scalded in the morning after using, and dried. Any brand of 
coffee can of course be made by the same process. 

Coffee No. 1. —Procure an “Old Dominion” coffee pot. 
Fill the coffee pot nearly full of cold water, set on the stove, and 
let it heat; if in a hurry heat the coffee pot by filling it with hot 
water. Have the teakettle on the stove, boiling. When ready 
to make the coffee, turn the hot water out of the coffee pot; have 
a coffee cup hot to use during the process. Put the coffee into 
the receiver, pour on a cup of boiling water, pour out and drip 
through again, then proceed in a similar manner with each suc¬ 
cessive cup. Keep the coffee pot at the rear of the stove. Do 



334 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

not allow it to boil. No egg or other article will be required for 
settling. 

Coffee No. 2. —Take a piece of white cloth of loose texture,, 
and make a bag, allowing ample space at the top for the coffee 
to swell. Put the ground coffee into the bag; put in the required 
number of cups of water; have the water cold, and when it 
comes to a boil the coffee is drawn sufficiently. This coffee can 
be made when hunters and miners or pleasure parties are out 
camping, and have not the conveniences for making as under 
the last recipe. 

Japan Tea. —Two teaspoonfuls make 5 ordinary cups of tea. 
Pour boiling water into the teapot, which may be of tin, but one 
of Wedgewood is preferable. The tea should boil briskly for 5 
minutes, then set on the back of the stove until served, or it is 
better to have everything in readiness so as to serve it immedi¬ 
ately after boiling. The drawing of any kind of tea may be 
materially accelerated by placing therein a small lump of brown 
sugar. 

Green Tea. —One teaspoonful to each cup makes strong tea 
—too strong, perhaps, for some persons. Have the teapot hot, 
which should be of earthen always. Pour the boiling hot water 
on it and let it steep 5 minutes or more at the back of the range. 
Serve with loaf sugar, and cream is a great improvement. This, 
tea should be drank immediately or the flavor is lost. 

CHOCOLATE. 

Chocolate is a richer drink than tea or coffee, without their 
narcotic and stimulating effects, though it is sometimes made a 
vehicle for medication. 

To Prepare Chocolate. —Chocolate may be mixed with 
water, with milk and water, with milk alone, or with milk and 
cream, according to choice. Eggs, mixed before being cooked, 
so as to form a part of the liquid, are sometimes added. Three 
to 4 heaping tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate are used to a 
quart of liquid. The chocolate should be first mixed into a thin 
paste with cold water or milk, put in a tea or coffee pot, the 
milk or water poured hot upon it, and cooked about three min¬ 
utes; serve hot. Sugar may be added while cooking, or afterwards- 


PIES AND PUDDINGS. 


335 


PIES AND PUDDINGS. 

Select only the best materials for pastry. Pie crust is best 
mixed cold, and the dough may be placed on ice for a few min¬ 
utes before rolling out. Pound for pound of flour and shorten¬ 
ing is frequently used, but a much less proportion of the lat.er 
is preferable for family pies. It is well to put the bottom crust 
on the plates and set them in the oven a short time to crust b - 
fore filling, else the bottom crust may turn out slack baked. 
Smearing the top of the bottom crust with beaten egg will pre¬ 
vent it from becoming soaked. Granite ware plates are prefer¬ 
able to tin or earthenware for baking pies. 

PIES Xnd tartlets. 

Puff Paste for Pies. —In lj pounds sifted flour rub 
with the hand -J- pound fresh butter ; mix with •£■ pint of ice cold 
water; knead and roll out thin, spread with butter, sprinkle flour 
over it, double in folds and roll again ; repeat this 3 or 4 times 
and let it set an hour in a cold place. 

Boiled Cider Pie. —Take 4 tablespoonfuls boiled cider, 3 
tablespoonfuls each of sugar and water, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour 
and 1 egg; beat all together. Bake in a deep plate with upper 
and under crusts. 

Cherry Pie. —Remove the stems and stones; cover the tin 
with rich crust; fill with cherries and add a cup of sugar, a 
tablespoonful of flour and a little butter ; add top crust. 

Southern Sweet Potato Pie. —One pound each of boiled 
mashed sweet potatoes, eggs and white sugar; enough cream or 
milk to make a thin batter of the consistency of pound cake ; 
flavor with nutmeg and cinnamon ; extract of pineapple may be 
added. 

Squash Pie. —Cut the squash in pieces and steam or boil 
until thoroughly done ; then remove from the shell and mash 
fine. To 1 quart of stewed and sifted squash add 1 quart milk, 
3 eggs, 1 cup sugar and a tablespoonful salt; add ginger and 
cinnamon to taste. 


333 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Raisin Pie. —One cup raisins, chopped fine, 1 cup sugar, 2 
eggs, 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup syrup, 1 cup water, \ cup flour, 1 tea¬ 
spoonful cloves, the same of cinnamon and soda, butter of the 
size of an egg ; 2 crusts. 

Apple Pie. —Make a good puff paste and lay it around the 
inside of the dish to be used for baking; prepare a sufficient 
number tart apples according to the size of the dish, and lay 
half of them in; cover these with sugar; add % a lemon peel 
grated, with a few drops of lemon juice, a sprinkling of cloves, 
and J stick of bruised cinnamon; put in the remainder of the 
apples and sprinkle again with sugar ; add the upper crust, and 
bake. 

Prune Pie. —Prunes that are rather dry to use otherwise 
can be made into good pies. Turn enough boiling water on 
to cover, and set on a few coals to let swell out plump. If 
there is not water enough to make a nice syrup, add more, and 
season with cinnamon and cloves. The grated peel and j uice of 
a lemon will give a nice flavor. Add sugar to the taste, and 
bake in deep granite plates. 

Superb Cocoanut Pie. —Three eggs, reserving the whites 
of 2 for frosting, 1 scant pint of milk, a little salt, \ teacupful 
or a little more of white sugar, and 1 coffee cupful of cocoanut. 
Beat the eggs and sugar thoroughly with a fork ; add the cocoa- 
nut last of all; bake in a rich paste ; one crust is sufficient. 

Frosting for Above. —Beat the whites of eggs as for cake, 
adding a very little powdered sugar, and spread it over the pie 
when baked; return to the oven to brown. A quick oven is 
preferable to a slow one for browning, as it does not toughen the 
frosting. 

Grape Pie. —Grapes make the best pies when very tender 
and green. If not very small, they should be stewed and strained 
to get out the seeds before making into pies. Sweeten to the 
taste when stewed ; they do not need any spice. If made into 
a pie without stewing, put to each layer of grapes a thick layer 
of sugar and a tablespoonful of water. 

Peach Pie. —Take mellow, juicy peaches, peel, cut in 
quarters and place in a deep pie plate, lined with pie crust. 
Sprinkle a thick layer of sugar on each layer of peaches, put in 
about a tablespoonful of water, and sprinkle a little flour on 


PIES AND PUDDINGS. 


337 


top ; cover with a rich crust and bake until done. If the fruit 
is not mellow they will require stewing as a preliminary. Dried 
peaches should be stewed soft and sweetened before making into 
pies. They require no spice. 

Mince Pie. —The best meat for mince pie is beef tongue and 
shank. Boil until perfectly tender ; take it up and clear it of 
bone and gristle; chop fine ; mix it with an equal weight of tart 
apples, chopped fine ; moisten the whole in boiled cider; sweeten 
to the taste with sugar and a very little molasses; add mace, 
cinnamon, cloves, and salt to the taste. If rich pies are pre¬ 
ferred, put in wine or brandy to the taste, and raisins, citron 
and Zante currants. The grated rind and juice of lemon improve 
the pie. Make the pies on shallow plates, with apertures m the 
upper crust, and bake from -J to f of an hour, according to the heat 
of the oven. 

Mince Meat. —Meat prepared for pies in the following man¬ 
ner will keep good for months if kept in a cool, dry place : To a 
pint of finely chopped meat add \ pound of suet, pound mace, 
1 ounce of cinnamon, \ ounce of cloves, 2 teaspoonfuls of salt; 
add, if desired, £ pound of seeded raisins, pound of Zante cur¬ 
rants, and \ pound of citron. 

Lemon Cream Pie. —One cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 raw 
potato, grated, juice and grated rind of 1 lemon. Bake in pastry 
top and bottom. This makes 1 pie. 

Lemon Butter for Tarts.— Grate 2 whole lemons, add 
cups sugar, 3 well beaten eggs, and a piece of butter of half the 
size of an egg. Mix these thoroughly and place over the fire, 
stirring until they boil; then set away to cool. 

Banana and Apple Tart. —Make crust of fine flour and 
fresh butter. Line dishes with crust; slice apples fine and put 
in dish with 3 or 4 bananas sliced, .adding sugar and a little 
syrup ; cover crust over fruit; brush a little melted butter over 
the top, strew white sugar on and bake 20 minutes or more, as 
required. 

PUDDINGS. 

Bice Pudding. —Boil J of a pound of rice in a quart of 
milk till soft, then stir in \ of a pound of butter; take it from 
fhe fire, put in a pint of cold milk, 2 teaspoonfuls of salt, and a 


338 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

grated nutmeg; when it is lukewarm beat 4 eggs with J of a 
pound of sugar and stir into the pudding; add \ pound of 
raisins, and turn the whole into a buttered pudding dish ; bake 
f of an hour. 

Cocoanut Dessert. —Grate a cocoanut very nicely and add 
powdered sugar until very sweet; serve with cream. 

Jelly Pudding. —Cover the bottom of a deep baking dish 
with rolled cracker crumbs, spread currant jelly over them in a 
layer, then a layer of crumbs, then jelly again until the dish is 
full, with the cracker layer on top. Serve with sweet liquid 
sauce. 

Tapioca Pudding. —To a quart of warm milk put 8 table¬ 
spoonfuls of tapioca. Let soak till it softens; then stir 
and add 2 tablespoonfuls of melted butter, 4 beaten eggs, 
and cinnamon or mace to the taste. Mix 4 tablespoonfuls of 
white powdered sugar with a wineglass of wine, and stir into the 
rest of the ingredients. Turn the whole into a pudding dish 
that has a lining of pastry, and bake immediately. 

Corn Starch Pudding. —Five tablespoonfuls of corn starch 
to 1 quart of milk; dissolve the starch in a part of the milk;, 
heat the remainder of the milk to nearly boiling, having salted 
it a little; then add the dissolved starch to the milk; boil 3 
minutes, stirring briskly; let cool, and then thoroughly mix 
with 3 eggs, well beaten, with 3 tablespoonfuls of sugar ; flavor to 
taste, and bake \ hour. This pudding ranks second to none. 

Rice Snow Balls. —Pare small, tart apples, and take out 
the cores with a small knife; fill the cavity with a stick of cin¬ 
namon or mace. Put each one in a small floured bag, and fill 
the bags about half full of unground rice. Tie up the bags so 
as to leave a great deal of room for the rice to swell; put them 
in a pot of water, with a tablespoonful of salt to a couple of 
quarts of water. 

Boiled Apple Dumplings.— Pare tart, mellow apples;, 
take out the cores with a small knife, and fill the holes with 
sugar. Make good pie crust; roll it out about f of an inch 
thick; cut it into pieces just large enough to enclose 1 apple. 
Lay the apples on them, and close the crust tight over them; 
tie them up in small pieces of thick cloth, that has been well 
floured; put the dumplings in a pot of boiling water, and boil 


PIES AND PUDDINGS. 


339’ 


them an hour without any intermission ; if Allowed to stop boil¬ 
ing, they will be heavy. Serve with pudding sauce, or butter 
and sugar. 

Baked Apple Dumplings. —Prepare as above without 
inclosing in cloth, and place the dumplings in a dripping-pan, 
and bake. Have on the stove in a dish water, sugar and butter 
when the dumplings are about half cooked baste often with the 
mixture. 

Cocoanut Pudding. —To a large grated cocoanut add the 
whites of 6 eggs, \ pound of sugar, 6 ounces of butter, £ wine- 
glassful of rose-water; bake in or out of paste. 

Boiled Indian Pudding. —Stir enough sifted corn meal 
into a quart of boiling milk or water, to make a very stiff batter;. 
then stir in 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 3 of sugar or molasses, J 
spoonful of ginger, or 2 teaspoonfuls each of cinnamon and salt. 
Two or 3 eggs improve the pudding, but are not essential 
some people like a little chopped suet in them. The pudding 
will boil so as to be very good, in the course of 3 hours, but it is- 
better for being boiled 5 or 6 hours. 

Cracker Pudding. —Mix 10 ounces of finely pounded crack¬ 
ers with a wineglass of wine, a little salt, and nutmeg, 3 or 4 
tablespoonfuls of sugar, 2 of melted butter. Beat 8 eggs to a 
froth; mix them with 3 pints of milk, and turn on to the rest 
of the ingredients. Let remain till the crackers begin to 
soften, then bake. 

Corn Pudding. —Grate sweet green corn ; to 3 teacups of it 
when grated put 2 quarts of milk, 8 eggs, 2 teaspoonfuls of salt, 
-J teacup of melted butter, and a grated nutmeg. Bake the pud¬ 
ding an hour ; serve it up with sauce. 

Cottage Pudding. —One teacupful of sugar and % cupful 
of butter, creamed together; yolks of 3 eggs, and white of 1; 
after they have been beaten, a cupful of milk (reserving out 
enough to dissolve \ teaspoonful of soda); 1 pint of sifted flour, 
with a teaspoonful of cream tartar mixed through it. At the 
last moment add the soda, thoroughly dissolved. Bake in a but¬ 
tered cake-pan. Make a frosting with the whites of 2 eggs beaten 
to a stiff froth, with a large cupful of sugar stirred in. As- 
soon as it is baked, spread the frosting on. Set it on the ice ; 
then serve with wine sauce, made with 2 cupfuls of brown sugar,, 


340 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

1 cupful of butter/2 eggs, and 1 cupful of sherry wine. Beat 
all together very light before you add the wine. Let steam, 
not boil (put it into a tin bucket, and place in a vessel of boil¬ 
ing water), stirring all the time until it scalds and thickens. Put 
a teaspoonful of vanilla into the sauce-bowl, and pour the sauce 
over it. 

English Plum Pudding. —Take a pound of fresh beef 
suet, very finely minced, a pound of raisins stoned and chopped, 
a pound of currants cleaned and dried, a pound of flour, the 
grated peel of a lemon, \ a nutmeg, 6 well-beaten eggs, an ounce 
of candied orange-peel and \ an ounce of candied lemon-peel 
minced, % pound of brown sugar, a wineglassful of brandy and 
.a teacupful of cream. Mix all the ingredients well with the flour. 
Boil the pudding in a cloth, put it into a kettle of boiling water, 
and keep it boiling for 7 hours. Before serving, strew grated 
loaf sugar over it. 

Orange Pudding. —Take 6 oranges, 1 pint of milk, 1 table- 
. spoonful of cornstarch, 3 eggs, \ cup of sugar. Peel and cut 
fine the oranges and sprinkle a very little sugar over them ; make 
a steamed custard of the yolks of the eggs, milk and cornstarch, 
and a pinch of salt; when cool pour over the oranges ; beat the 
whites to a froth, add 1 tablespoonful of powdered sugar, pour 
over the custard, and set in the oven to brown. To be served 
•cold. 

Suet Pudding With Eruit. —Take 1 cup of chopped suet, 
1 cup of milk, sweet or sour, 1 cup of molasses, cup of sugar, 
1 teaspoonful of soda if milk is sweet, 1-J- teaspoonfuls of soda 
if the milk is sour, 2 teaspoonfuls of cloves, 3 teaspoonfuls of 
cinnamon, 3f cups of flour, 2 cups of chopped raisins, or the 
fruit may be mixed, including currants and citron sliced very 
thin, teaspoonful of salt. Steam 2 hours. To be served hot 
with any kind of pudding sauce one prefers. Brandy sauce is 
preferable. 

Bread Pudding. —Take 1 pint bowl full of crumbs, 1J pints 
,of milk, coffee cups of sugar, 1 egg, \ nutmeg. A small 
piece of butter, raisins or currants may be added. Soak the 
•crumbs in the milk, but do not mash too fine as it renders the 
pudding heavy. Then add the sugar (granulated), egg, etc. 
Bake in moderately hot oven. Eaten with pudding sauce. 


PLAIN AND FANCY CAKES AND COOKIES. 


341 ' 


Apple Tapioca Pudding.— Take 1 cupful of tapioca, 1| 
pints of water, £ teaspoonful of salt, £ dozen apples, 1 cup of 
sugar. Soak the tapioca in the water over night, add the salt 
also. Pare and core the apples, cover with the sugar, flavor with 
nutmeg, and enough water to prevent burning. Pour the tapi¬ 
oca over the apples and bake one hour. Serve hot with butter 
and sugar for sauce. 


PLAIN AND FANCY CAKES AND COOKIES. 

All the ingredients for cake should be of the best quality ; the 
eggs particularly should be fresh ; see that the fuel, the fire and 
the oven are in order. 

For cake or pastry the butter should be washed in ice cold 
water the night before using, squeezed hard in a clean cloth, and 
put in ice water and set on ice until needed. Raisins should 1 
also be previously prepared^ and currants washed, picked over 
and rubbed dry in a clean cloth. 

In making raised cake, all fruit must be well rolled in flour left 
out for that purpose, and not be added to the cake until just 
ready to be put into the oven. It must not then be beaten in, 
but spread over the top lightly and pressed in a little way, else" 
the fruit will sink to the bottom. 

When sour milk is used in mixing, the cake should be placed 
in the oven as soon as put together, unless, like hard ginger¬ 
bread or cookies, it needs to be rolled out or molded. 

WEDDING AND OTHER CAKES. 

Wedding Cake. —Take 1 pound sugar and the whites of £ 
eggs; beat the eggs until almost stiff, and add half the sugar 
with teaspoonful of acetic acid ; when beaten thoroughly add 
the rest of the sugar and another teaspoonful of acid, with 
some flavoring. Beat until smooth, and, after rubbing the cake 
with flour in order to remove all crumbs, put a coat of icing on 
and set in the sun. 

Fill the tubes with icing and put a row of dots at equal dis¬ 
tances around the top edges; allow these to dry, and take a 



342 DOMESTIC ECONOMY and the household. 

smaller tube and go from one dot to another until they have all 
been touched ; when dry put another row of dots, then the rail. 
It can be built as high as desired in this way. The top can be 
■ornamented by going across, and then let another row of dots 
intersect it at right angles* and divide these again, building as 
high as the railing of the circumference. Dot the side in points 
reaching from top to bottom. 

Take a piece of tissue paper an inch and a half longer than 
the cake stand, and pink and perforate the edge ; this can be 
done with the pinking iron and a saddler’s punch. Place the 
cake on and make an edge of lace on the bottom of the cake by 
allowing the funnel to touch the cake at regular distances; 
when dry let the funnel touch between those spaces. A wet 
■cloth spread over the bowl of icing will keep it from drying. If 
too stiff, beat the white of another egg and put in a small quan¬ 
tity. If too thick, add more sugar. 

For frosting, break the eggs into a flat dish and beat with 
a fork. Ten heaping spoonfuls of pulverized sugar to the white 
of 1 egg is a good proportion. Be sure that all is thoroughly 
beaten before taking the cake from the oven. If the cake is 
rough or brown when baked, dust on a little flour, put on the 
frosting and rub smoothly down with a knife. Let it stand a 
moment in the oven or hot sun, but do not let it brown. If the 
eggs do not beat quickly put in a trifle of salt, and if the frost¬ 
ing is too stiff to spread nicely dip the knife in cold water. 

Pink Coloring. —One tablespoonful of pulverized cochineal, 
1 tablespoonful each of alum, soda and cream of tartar; mix 
thoroughly with 1 pint of boiling water; strain and bottle until 
ready for use. 

Tinted Frosting. —The yolks of 3 eggs and \ cup pulver¬ 
ized sugar beaten together. Flavor with lemon. A fine prepa¬ 
ration for white cake. 

Confectioners’ Icing. —Beat the whites of 2 eggs with 8 
large spoonfuls of white sugar; place in a small can and cook 
over the boiling teakettle for 5 minutes, stirring constantly; 
spread on the cake with a knife and as speedily as possible, as it 
hardens immediately. 

Ornamental Frosting. —Make frosting just thick enough 
to run well, place it in a small sized funnel made of letter paper, 


PLAIN AND FANCY CAKES AND COOKIES. 343 

first cutting off the small end to allow the frosting to pass 
through freely, and ornament to your taste. The cake should be 
cold and made smooth and floured to prevent the frosting from 
sliding off. 

Pork Cake. —Two pounds raisins, 1 pound currants, 1 
pound fat pork, 2J cups molasses, the same quantity of white 
sugar, 2£ cups boiling water, 3 teaspoonfuls baking soda, 1 table- 
spoonful cloves, 1 tablespoonful cinnamon and 1 tablespoonful 
fine salt. 

Raisin Cake. —One cup white sugar, 4 tablespoonful3 
melted butter, stirred together; 8 tablespoonfuls sweet milk, 1 
cup flour, 1 teaspoonful baking powder; flavor with lemon; 
.stir in lastly the beaten whites of 4 eggs ; bake in layers. For 
filling, add a little water to 1 cup white sugar; put it on the 
.stove to boil; chop 1 cup raisins and beat the white of 1 egg; 
take the sugar off and stir the egg and raisins in. 

Perfection Cake. —One pound flour, 1 pound pulverized 
sugar, f pound of nice butter, 1 gill sweet milk, 1 teaspoonful 
baking powder and 8 eggs; sift flour and powder together ; 
cream the butter and sugar together until they are as light as 
possible; beat the whites and yolks of the eggs separately ; add 
yolks to butter and sugar, then flour, and lastly the whites of 
the eggs; beat lightly until all are well mixed; bake in ordi¬ 
nary cake tins in a slow oven. For flavoring, either lemon or 
vanilla may be used, according to preference. 

Hickory Nut Cake. —Take 1J cups sugar, \ cup butter, 3 
•cups flour, % cup sweet milk, 3 eggs, 3 teaspoonfuls baking pow¬ 
der, 1 cup chopped hickory nuts, 1 teaspoonful vanilla. 

Sunshine Cake. —The whites of 11 eggs and yolks of 6; 
1J cups granulated sugar, measured after it is sifted; 1 cup 
flour, measured after sifting; 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar and 

1 of extract of orange. Beat the whites to a stiff frost and 
gradually beat in the sugar. Beat the yolks in a similar man¬ 
ner, and add the beaten whites and the orange; stir in the 
flour, mixing quickly. Bake in pans 50 minutes in a slow oven. 

Ice Cream Cake. —Two cups sugar, 1 cup butter, 1 cup 
;sweet milk, 1 cup corn starch, 2 cups flour, the whites of 8 eggs, 

2 large teaspoonfuls baking powder, mixing the latter with the 
flour. Stir butter and sugar to a cream, adding the corn starch 


344 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

and flour gradually while stirring. Bake in layers. The icing 
is made as follows : The whites of 4 eggs beaten very light, 4 
cups sugar, \ pint boiling water poured over the sugar and 
boiled until clear and thick; pour slowly over the eggs, stirring 
well. Dissolve citric acid and put 1 teaspoonful into the icing, 
or flavor with almond or vanilla spread between the layers or on 
top after well beating until cold. Finally add the whites of the 
eggs just before baking. 

Angels’ Food. —Half a tumbler of granulated sugar, 1 
tumbler sifted flour, 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar, 1 teaspoonful 
vanilla; sift the flour 4 times; add the cream of tartar and sift 
again, but have the right measure before adding the cream of 
tartar ; sift sugar, and measure ; beat the whites of 11 eggs to a 
stiff froth, add the sugar, a little at a time, then the flour the 
same way, then the vanilla; do not stop beating until ready to 
put in the baking pan. Bake 40 minutes, not opening the oven 
door for the first 15 minutes ; try, and if not done, leave a few 
minutes longer. 

For Icing, the whites of 2 eggs, 2 teacups sugar; boil the 
sugar with just enough water to moisten it; pour boiling hot, 
very slowly, over the beaten eggs; dissolve a small \ teaspoon¬ 
ful citric acid in a teaspoonful water and put in enough of it to 
make a pleasant flavor. 

Cream Puffs. —Half a pint cold water, in which rub smooth 
6 ounces flour; put into a spider with 4 ounces butter and stir 
continually over the fire, not too hot, until thoroughly cooked. 
It will become an easily managed “lump;” cool it and add 4 
eggs; beat well and drop on a buttered tin in neat, compact 
fragments far enough apart not to touch when they rise. Have 
the oven about as hot as for cookies, and in turning lift up the 
tin, for if you shove them before they are set you will have pan¬ 
cakes ; they should be hollow balls. Bake long enough to 
ensure that they will not fall when removed, and cool quickly on 
brown paper. 

To Fill Them, take pint milk, 2 beaten eggs, J cup corn 
starch or flour; wet smoothly 1 cup sugar; flavor with lemon 
or vanilla; cook in a tin pan set in hot water, stirring until 
smooth. When both are cold, open a little slit with a sharp 
knife and fill in one tablespoonful custard. 


PLAIN AND FANCY CAKES AND COOKIES. 345 

Lemon Puffs. —One cup prepared flour, £ cup powdered 
sugar, 1 tablespoonful butter, 3 eggs beaten stiff, taking care to 
strain the yolks, a little salt, 1 grated lemon peel, 3 tablespoon¬ 
fuls milk ; mix and bake in little pans. 

For Sauce, 1 cup sugar, f cup butter, 1 egg, 1 lemon (all the 
juice), f rind grated, 1 teaspoonful nutmeg, 3 tablespoonfuls 
each of boiling water, cream, butter and sugar; beat all hard 
10 minutes. Add a spoonful at a time in the boiling water. 
Put in a pail over a teakettle. Stir constantly and do not let 
boil, but at the same time see that it is well heated. 

Mountain Cake. —One pound pulverized sugar, f pound 
butter; stir butter and sugar to a cream and add 6 eggs, beating 
the yolks and whites separately. Add the yolks to the butter 
and sugar, together with 1 pound flour, 3 teaspoonfuls baking 
powder, and 1 cup milk. Add the whites of the eggs last, flavor¬ 
ing with 1 teaspoonful vanilla. 

White Sponge Cake. —Place a clean sieve over an earthen 
bowl and measure into the sieve 1 cup powdered sugar, f cup 
flour, \ cup corn starch, 1 teaspoonful baking powder ; run them 
through together; have ready the whites of 8 eggs beaten to a. 
stiff froth ; add 1 teaspoonful rose extract; mix thoroughly and 
bake in square tins, about two inches deep, in a quick oven. 

Marble Cake.— For the Light Part.— White sugar If 
cups, butter £ cup, sweet milk f cup, soda f teaspoonful, cream 
of tartar 1 teaspoonful, whites of 4 eggs, flour 2f cups, beat the 
eggs with the sugar, leaving the butter to soften by the fire, then 
stir it in ; put the soda and cream of tartar into the milk, stir¬ 
ring up and mixing all together ; then sift and stir in the flour. 

For the Dark Part. —Brown sugar 1 cup, molasses f cup, 
butter f cup, sour milk f cup, soda J teaspoonful, cream of tar¬ 
tar 1 teaspoonful, flour 2f cups, yolks of 4 eggs, cloves, allspice, 
cinnamon, nutmeg, ground, of each f teaspoonful; beat and 
mix by dropping the two parts respectively from the bottom of 
the dish in alternate layers. 

LATER CAKES, DOUGHNUTS AND COOKIES. 

Jelly Cakes. —Two eggs, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 tea¬ 
spoonful cream of tartar, f teaspoonful soda, and a very little- 
22 


346 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

salt. Make two cakes, spread thin on long tins. As soon as 
done spread on jelly and roll up immediately. This will not 
break in rolling unless there is too much flour in it. 

Fig Cake. —Three teacups sugar, 1 teacup each of butter and 
sweet milk, 4 teacupfuls flour, the whites of 12 eggs beaten, 2 
teaspoonfuls baking powder, 1 pound figs boiled until smooth; 
put this between each layer. 

Orange Cake. —Mix 2 cups sugar with the yolks of 2 eggs; 
add the whites, beaten to a stiff froth ; add a large tablespoonful 
butter and 1 cup milk, with flour enough to make it stiff as cup 
cake ; flavor to taste, and bake in jelly pans. For filling, take 1 
lemon, 2 oranges (grate the rinds and add the juice), 1 cup sugar, 
1 teaspoonful corn starch, 1 cup water ; beat until smooth; cool 
before putting between cakes. 

Apple Cake. —One heaping cup sugar, 1 large tablespoonful 
butter, 2 eggs, £ cup milk, 2 cups flour, or enough to make a 
nice thick, soft batter, 1 teaspoonful cream tartar, \ teaspoonful 
soda. This will make three layers if the pan is not too large. 

Filling for Layers. —One large tart apple, peeled and 
grated; then grate 1 lemon peel; squeeze juice and grate the 
pulp; to this add 1 cup sugar and 1 white of egg ; put all in a 
tin cup and cook thoroughly ; spread between cakes as with jelly 
cake. 

Doughnuts. —One pint sour milk, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 
teaspoonful soda, ^ a small cup lard, with nutmeg to flavor. 
Mix to a moderately stiff dough, roll half an inch thick, cut in 
t rings or twists, drop into boiling lard and fry light brown. 

Hickory Nut Cookies.— Two cups sugar, 2 eggs, £ cup 
melted butter, 6 tablespoonfuls milk, or a little over cup, 1 
teaspoonful cream of tartar, •§■ teaspoonful soda, and 1 cup 
chopped meats stirred into the dough. 






CREAMS AND CUSTARDS. 


347 


CREAMS AND CUSTARDS. 

Under this head recipes are given for Creams, Custards and 
Fruit Sauces most commonly prepared for immediate use. 
Directions for preparing canned fruits, jams and jellies, will be 
found in another place. 

Snow Cream. —Beat the whites of 4 eggs to a stiff froth ; 
add 2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar, a tablespoonful lemon 
flavoring and rose water; beat the whole together and add a 
pint thick cream. This dish is well adapted to plain boiled 
rice. 

To Whip Cream. —Sweeten a bowl of cream with loaf 
.sugar, and flavor to taste; set another bowl near the first, with 
a sieve over it; whip the cream with a whisk, and as it rises in 
a froth take off with a skimmer and place it in the sieve to drain ; 
whip also the cream which drains off, and when done ornament 
with lemon raspings. 

Floating Island. —Set a quart of milk to boil, stir into it 
the beaten yolks of 6 eggs; flavor with any extract preferred and 
sweeten to taste ; whip whites of the eggs to a stiff froth. When 
the custard is thick put into a deep dish and heap the frothed 
eggs upon it. Serve cold. 

Cream Custard. —Sweeten 1 pint of cream with powdered 
white sugar; set on a few coals ; when hot, stir in white wine 
until it curdles—add rose-water or essence of lemon to the taste, 
.and turn into cups. 

Custard, Baked. —Mix a quart of new milk with 8 eggs well 
beaten, strain the mixture through a fine sieve, and sweeten with 
6 ounces of sugar ; add a little salt, and pour the custard into a 
deep dish, with or without a lining, or rim of paste ; grate nut¬ 
meg and lemon peel over the top, and bake in a very slow oven 
from 20 to 30 minutes, or even longer, should it not be firm in 
the centre. A custard, if well made and properly baked, will 
appear quite smooth when cut, and there will be no whey in the 
dish. 


348 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Custard, Boiled. —Boil a pint of milk with lemon-peel and 
cinnamon; mix a pint of cream and the yolks of 5 eggs, or if 
cream be not used, more eggs must be added ; strain the milk and 
sweeten, and pour it upon the cream and eggs, stirring well; then 
simmer off till of a proper consistence, stirring one way all tho 
time, to prevent its curdling. When the custard is removed from 
the fire, keep stirring till cool; then put into glasses or cups. 
Rice flour, or arrowroot, rubbed to a smooth paste in a cup of 
cold milk, may be used for the thickening, if required. 

Apple Custard. —One pint apple sauce, 1 pint sweet milk, 
3 eggs. Flavor and sweeten to taste. Bake with an under 
crust. 

French Custard. —One tablespoonful potato flour, 3 table¬ 
spoonfuls cold milk, 1 pint boiling milk, 2 ounces white sugar, 2 
eggs and a little flavoring. 

Tapioca Cream. —Soak 2 tablespoonfuls of tapioca in cold 
water set upon the stove, and when thoroughly dissolved pour in 
a quart of milk. When this begins to boil stir in the yolks of 2 
eggs well beaten, with a cup of sugar. When this boils stir in 
the whites, beaten to a thick froth, and take off immediately. 
Flavor to taste. 

Charlotte Russe. —One pint of milk, the beaten yolks of 4 
eggs, and £ pound of white sugar. Soften 1 ounce of isinglass 
in cold water ; when it is soft add it to the milk and eggs, allow¬ 
ing it to get thoroughly dissolved. Put the whole upon the stove, 
but only to get a good heating, to scald, but not to boil. Have 
1 quart of flavored cream whipped to a froth and stir into it the 
above preparation when that has begun to thicken; line your 
mold with pieces of cake fastened together with the white of an 

egg- 

For the Cake.— The cake to accompany the charlotte should 
be very nice. Two-thirds of a cup of butter, cup of milk, 2 
cups of sugar, 4 cups of flour, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoonful of cream of 
tartar, f teaspoonful of soda. Bake in shallow pans as for jelly 
cake. A delicate sponge cake rolled and filled is a favorite cake 
for charlotte russe. 

Corn Starch Blanc Mange. —Take 1J pints of sweet 
milk, £ cup of white sugar, § cup of corn starch, a pinch of salt. 


CREAMS AND CUSTARDS. 


349 


Reserve a teacup of milk to mix the corn starch with ; place the 
remainder over the fire ; pour the corn starch in when boiling. 
Cook a few minutes, then remove from the fire, add the sugar 
immediately, so it will melt, cool a little, then add the flavoring. 
Mold in buttered cups or one large dish. Use sweetened cream 
or milk and sugar as a sauce. 

Orange Snow. —Eight fine, sweet oranges, peeled and sliced, 
i cocoanut grated, £ cup powdered sugar; arrange the orange 
in a glass dish, scatter the cocoanut thickly over it, and sprinkle 
lightly with sugar; cover with another layer of orange and fill 
the dish with alternate layers. 

Moonshine. —Beat the whites of 6 eggs into a very stiff froth, 
adding gradually 6 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar, and beating 
for not less than 15 minutes ; then beat in 1 heaping tablespoon¬ 
ful of preserved peaches cut into tiny bits. In serving, pour in 
each saucer some rich cream sweetened and flavored with vanilla, 
and on the cream place a liberal portion of the moonshine. This 
quantity is enough for 7 or 8 persons. 

Cranberry Sauce. —Wash and pick over the berries and 
place them in a tin or porcelain vessel, allowing a teacup of water 
to each quart. Stew slowly, stirring often, until they are as thick 
as marmalade. Take from the fire in a little over 1 hour if they 
have cooked steadily; sweeten well, and strain through a net 
into a mold wet with cold water. Do this one day before using 
and then turn out into a glass dish. 

Peaches With Rice. —Cut nice peaches in halves; sim¬ 
mer in syrup for J hour; drain, and when cold arrange 
them on a dish around a shape of rice made as follows: Boil 
3 tablespoonfuls of cleanly washed rice in a pint of milk, with 
sugar to taste, and a piece of vanilla ; when quite done, put into 
a basin to get cold. Make a custard with a gill of milk and the 
yolks of 4 eggs ; when cold, mix with the rice. Beat up to 
a froth a gill of cream, with some sugar and a piece of isinglass 
dissolved in a little water; mix this very lightly with the rice 
and custard ; fill a mold with the mixture and set on ice. When 
moderately iced, turn out on a dish and serve. 

Apple Meringue.— Stew and sweeten ripe, juicy, tart 
apples ; wash smooth and flavor with lemon juice or grated peel, 
and put in a dessert dish for tea. Spread over the apple a thick 


350 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


meringue, made by beating to a stiff froth the whites of 3 eggs 
and 3 teaspoonfuls powdered sugar; flavor with vanilla; beat 
until it will stand alone, and cover the sauce very thick ; place 
in the oven until set. Serve cold. 


DIETETICS AND HEALTH. 

Having given in the foregoing pages quite full directions and 
formulas for cooking and preparing food for the table, a few 
suggestions how to eat will appropriately follow here. If it is 
important that sick people should be advised what is good for 
them to eat so that they may get well, it is equally, if not more 
important, that well people should know what to eat and how 
and when to eat it, in order that they may be less liable to get 
sick. Some remarks applicable in this connection will be found 
under the head “Dyspepsia,” jn the medical division of this 
work, page 101. 

Meals should be taken at regular intervals, and at about the 
same hour every day. At least, with people whose lives are 
devoted to business, convenience determines and enforces this 
rule. And the daily habit should be maintained as far as prac¬ 
ticable. The habit of having different hours for meals on Sun¬ 
day from those on other days, is pernicious. A late breakfast 
Sunday morning, and a corresponding late dinner, deranges the 
order; there is no relish for the evening meal, and before bed¬ 
time arrives the stomach is empty, and those who can will min¬ 
ister to it by late suppers, which all writers on hygiene agree in 
condemning—at least where they are a departure from the regu¬ 
lar daily habit. In the larger cities there are certain classes who 
keep late hours and rise at a late hour in the morning, who as a 
natural sequence eat late suppers. These must keep the best 
account they can with their stomachs ; but with those engaged 
in the industries the three-meal-a-day rule will be found best for 
the average. And for similar reasons, lunching between meals, 
as elsewhere stated, should not be indulged in. The Indian eats 
like the anaconda. He will gorge himself and then lie in a 



DIETETICS AND HEALTH. 


351 


state of torpor for two or three days until the demands of the 
stomach force him to action, when he gets up a hunt and again 
gorges himself on the fruit of his prowess. But this work is 
not intended for a state of savagery, nor yet for those extreme 
phases of civilized life that ultimate in habitual dissiptaion, but 
rather for the great average of the people who lead useful lives 
in regular pursuits. 

Few people understand how much the action of the stomach 
depends upon mental conditions. If a woman would keep her 
husband in good temper and good health, let her study his appe¬ 
tite, and take good care of it. If he has the articles that he 
likes, and they are prepared to his liking, he will keep in good 
humor and have good digestion. But if he is habitually disap¬ 
pointed, mortified and chagrined by a careless, indifferent or slat¬ 
ternly way of placing his food before him, he will be cross and 
sour, and this will react upon his stomach, and he will become 
a confirmed dyspeptic. And a dyspeptic husband is one of the 
worst misfortunes that can befall a family. It is too often the 
case that men come from their work flushed and harried by some¬ 
thing that has gone wrong, and the more ready to be irritated 
by anything amiss about the dinner. The dame has had crying- 
children to see to, and she is petulant, and at the first word of 
discontent from the husband she spanks one of the children as 
an offset. The dinner is partaken of in this scene of family 
commotion, to which the stomach responds, and as a result the 
nervous action is deranged and the social and moral atmosphere 
poisoned and disordered. That woman was a philosopher who 
said, “ I don't want any wry faces round my table.-” Robert G. 
Ingersoll was a philosopher when he said that it takes as much 
talent to be a good cook as it does to be a member of Congress. 
And there is vastly more of philosophy than of theology in the 
proverb which says, “ Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, 
than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.” A person should not 
partake of food when in anger, or when under any strong emo¬ 
tional influence. At such times the nervous forces that are 
necessary to stimulate the stomach and secure the proper assimi¬ 
lation of food, are absorbed in another direction. Many persons 
when in high expectation of some event, find appetite wholly 
wanting for the time being. Persons in deep grief frequently 


352 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

refuse all food for days together, and the same is true of many 
persons suffering from disappointed affection. 

Nothing would be more thankless or more futile than for one 
person to attempt to prescribe habits or regimen for other per¬ 
sons. If there is any one thing in which the individual man 
ought to be supreme, it is in the ordering of his own habits and 
the ministering to his own tastes and appetites. It is only some 
general hints on this subject that can be at all useful. There is 
a class of dietarians who hold that man should live wholly on a 
vegetable diet, and some go so far as to say that he should use 
no salt, spices or condiments. Others are certain that man 
should never partake of any stimulating drinks, not even tea or 
coffee. Others again will be exceedingly intemperate in the 
use of these articles, but any other kind of stimulant is their 
especial horror. There is probably no subject on which men 
and women are so full of hobbies as this one subject of eating 
and drinking. These general rules may be stated: In the 
colder climates men require more animal food than in warmer 
climates, while in the far north they subsist largely on fat pork, 
fish, seals, and whale oil; in the milder latitudes grains and 
fruits form the greater part of the diet. Out door laborers con¬ 
sume more than people of sedentary habits in the same latitudes. 
A free use of vegetables is better adapted to persons of active 
occupations than to those of sedentary habits. As a rule farmers 
rely too much upon pork, bacon and other salted meats, and do not 
raise or eat vegetables as freely as they ought. A person engaged 
in out door labor suffers a greater waste of tissue than the indoor 
man, and must consume more to supply the waste. And again 
it results, that where a large amount is taken into the system a 
correspondingly large amount must be worked off and dis¬ 
charged, which the man of exercise easily does. If the seden¬ 
tary man should consume as much in bulk he could not dispose 
of it. This is why the coarser vegetables in any large propor¬ 
tions are not adapted to city people ; they may be likened to a 
horse that is kept in stable, and to whom fresh grass and clover 
would be a misfortune. From this cause the food of city people 
is generally more highly concentrated, and there are good reasons 
for believing that herein may be found one prime cause of the 
greater consumption of stimulating and intoxicating drinks in 


DIETETICS AND HEALTH. 


353 


cities and large towns. But in speaking of vegetables, a distinc¬ 
tion should be made. It should be understood to include gen¬ 
erally garden and table vegetables, and not fruits or grains, which 
botanically are vegetables also. It is not recommended that peo¬ 
ple of sedentary habits should eat more freely of meats than 
those of active habits, nor indeed as much so, but that a freer 
use of vegetables proper is better adapted to active habits. City 
people should make a more general use of grain or farinaceous 
foods than they do. Oatmeal cannot be too highly recom¬ 
mended to people of all occupations, ages and conditions. With 
greater care in making bread and preparing other farinaceous 
foods, but avoiding the use of too much lard, sugar, eggs, and 
other enriching ingredients, and with care also in procuring 
pure milk, which railway transportation ought to bring to the 
cities in abundance, and the meat bills might be greatly lessened. 

Now with these generalisms the only practical advice that can 
be given is, “ Go and do as you please.” But if you find that 
you are making a swine of yourself, quit; and if in spite of 
your best judgment and endeavors you find that you are suffer¬ 
ing from dietary causes, consult your physician. 

There is one modern habit that is an abomination, and that is, 
massing so much “stuff” at a single meal. This is more espe¬ 
cially applicable to public houses. Where a large number of 
people are to be fed, there is a propriety in providing a variety 
of food, so as to give the guests some choice. But here the 
responsibility rests with the guest, not to choose too many 
things. A single service of meat, with not more than two kinds 
of vegetables, a side dish, one kind of dessert (if dessert be taken 
at all), and some table drink, should constitute the average hotel 
dinner; and for two reasons : First, for digestion—because any 
great variety of food taken upon the stomach at the same meal 
brings together so many things that are chemically incompatible, 
that an internal war is very likely to result; and second, for 
the relish—because where people tantalize the taste with many 
things in immediate relation to each other, it soon ceases to 
respond with zest to any ; it is like dissipation in any other rela¬ 
tion of life, in which appetite is destroyed by satiety. People 
who thus abuse their stomachs, soon reach a point where “ noth¬ 
ing tastes good,” and rob themselves not only of good digestion, 
but of the pleasure of eating, for relish, digestion and assimila- 


354 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

tion are very closely allied. If people who eat at public tables 
would measure their meals by what they are accustomed to have 
at home, they would do much more wisely than by ordering the 
whole bill of fare because it can be had without extra cost. 
Small hotels, too, make a great mistake in striving to provide so 
great a variety ; a few articles well prepared is much the better 
way. 

Food should be well masticated, and not eaten too hastily. 
Prof. King, of Cincinnati, in his “ Family Physician,” says : 
“Men generally treat their horses and cattle better than they do 
themselves, or more in accordance with the laws of nature; and 
this they are obliged to do, or else they will lose them; and if 
they could only be made to realize the injury to their pockets in 
their own cases, by an inattention to the laws of eating and 
digestion—as, the loss of time, suffering, neglect of business, doc¬ 
tors’ and drug bills, nursing, etc., they would probably be more 
careful, and guard themselves as closely as they do their cattle, 
for it is a fact that cannot be denied, that ‘ it does not pay to be 
sick.’ What sensible person allows his cattle to have a hearty 
meal immediately after hard and fatiguing exercise ? On the 
contrary, is it not the custom to let the animals rest until they 
have recovered from their fatigue, and become sufficiently vigor¬ 
ous for digestion to go on without danger of their being found¬ 
ered ? What sensible person works his animals severely imme¬ 
diately after a hearty meal ? Indeed, is it not customary to allow 
them a little rest, in order that the process of digestion may not 
be interfered with ? And then how much better prepared are 
they for active labor ! In fact, the natural instinct of animals, 
when left to themselves, impels them to seek quiet and rest after 
a full meal. And have we so little care for ourselves that we 
will bestow every attention upon the welfare of our dumb beasts 
for the sake of the few paltry dollars they may be worth, while 
at the same time we sacrifice our own health, happiness and 
means, by treating ourselves as if our own physical system was 
not governed by any natural laws whatever.” 

Active effort, either in hard thinking or hard working, should 
as far as practicable be deferred for an hour or so after meals. 
And the same rule should check the indulgence of the sexual 
appetite. Condiments, as pepper, mustard, vinegar and the fluid 
sauces, should be used as sparingly as possible. As a rule with 


* 


DIETETICS AND HEALTH 


355 


persons in ordinary health, if there is a partial failure of the appe¬ 
tite at dinner, the better way is to dine on a crust, and the appe¬ 
tite will return by supper time. In such cases the stomach should 
be allowed to govern, and not custom, or the will, as is too often 
the case. Where appetite is wanting, the stomach says plainly, 
“l don't want any food," and the will should not step in and 
say, “ You must take it whether you want it or not." 

DIGESTIBILITY OF FOODS. 

The following table will show the time required for digesting, 
in the stomach, the several kinds of food in common use : 


Article. 

How 

Prepared. 

Time. 

H. M. 

Article. 

How 

Prepared. 

Time. 

H.M. 

Apples, sour, mellow.. 
Apples, sour, hard. 

Raw. 

2 00 

Liver, beeves’, fresh... 
Marrow, spinal, animal 
Milk. 

Broiled.... 

2 00 

Raw. 

2 50 

Roiled . 

2 40 

2 06 

Apples, sweet, mellow. 
Bass, striped. 

Raw. 

1 30 

Boiled. 

Broiled. 

3 00 

Milk. 

Raw. 

2 15 

Beans, pod. 

Boiled. 

2 30 

Mutton, fresh. 

Broiled. 

3 00 

Beans and green corn.. 
Beef. 

Boiled. 

3 45 

Mutton, fresh. 

Boiled. 

3 00 

Fried. 

4 00 

Mutton, fresh. 

Roasted.... 

3 15 

Beefsteak. 

Broiled. 

3 00 

Oysters, fresh. 

Raw. 

2 55 

Beef, fresh, lean, dry.. 

Roasted ... 

3 30 

Oysters’ fresh. 

Roasted.... 

3 15 

Beef, fresh, lean, rare. 
Beef, with mustard.... 
Beef, with salt only... 
Beets. 

Roasted ... 

3 00 

Oysters, fresh. 

Stewed. 

3 30 

Boiled. 

3 10 

Parsnips. 

Boiled. 

2 30 

Boiled. 

3 36 

Pig, sucking. 

Roasted.... 

2 30 

Boiled. 

3 45 

Pigs’ feet, soused. 

Boiled. 

1 00 

Brains, animal. 

Boiled. 

1 45 

Pork steak. 

Broiled .... 

3 15 

Bread, corn. 

Baked. 

3 15 

Pork, fat and lean. 

Roasted . . 

5 15 

Bread, wheat, fresh.... 

Baked. 

3 30 

Pork’ recently salted.. 

Stewed. 

3 00 

Cabbage. 

Raw. 

2 30 

Pork, recently salted.. 

Broiled.... 

3 15 

Cabbage, with vinegar. 
Cabbage. 

Raw. 

Boiled. 

2 00 

4 30 

Pork, recently salted.. 
Pork, recently salted.. 
Potatoes, Irish. 

Fried. 

Roiled. 

4 15 

4 80 

Carrot, orange. 

Boiled. 

3 13 

Roasted ... 

2 80 

Cartilage. 

Boiled. 

4 15 

Potatoes’ Irish. 

Baked. 

2 80 

Catfish. :.. 

Fried. 

3 30 

Potatoes, Trish. 

Boiled. 

3 80 

Cheese, old, strong — 

Chicken, full-grown_ 

Codfish, cured, dry.... 
Custard. 

Raw. 

3 30 

Salmon, salted. 

Boiled. 

4 00 

Fricasseed. 

2 45 

Sausage, fresh. 

Broiled. 

3 20 

Boiled. 

2 00 

Soup,L>arley. 

Boiled. 

1 30 

Baked. 

2 45 

Soup, bean'.. 

Boiled. 

3 00 

Duck, tame. 

Roasted.... 

4 00 

Soup, chicken. 

Boiled. 

3 00 

Duck, wild. 

Roasted ... 

4 30 

Soup, mutton. 

Boiled. 

3 30 

Eggs, fresh. 

Raw. 

2 00 

Soup, oyster. 

Boiled. 

3 00 

Eggs’ fresh. 

Whipped... 

1 30 

Soup, beef, vegetable.. 

Boiled. 

4 00 

Eggs, fresh. 

Roasted ... 

2 15 

Soup, marrow bones... 
Tripe, soused. 

Boiled. 

4 15 

Egp-s, fresh. 

Soft-boiled. 

3 00 

Boiled. 

1 00 

Eggs, fresh. 

Hr’d-boiled 

3 30 

Trout, salmon, fresh... 
Trout, salmon, fresh... 
Turkey, wild. 

Boiled. 

1 30 

Eggs. fresh. 

Fried. 

3 30 

Fried. 

1 30 

Fowls, domestic. 

R.oa.sted . . 

4 00 

Roasted ... 

2 18 

Fowls, domestic. 

Roiled. 

4 00 

Turkey, domestic. 

Roasted ... 

2 80 

fxelatine. 

Roiled . 

2 30 

Turkey^ domestic. 

Boiled. 

2 25 

froose, wild . 

Roasted ... 
Warmed... 

Fried 

2 30 

Turnips. 

Boiled. 

3 30 

Hashes 

2 30 

Veal, fresh. 

Boiled. 

4 00 

Heart, animal , 

4 00 

Veal, fresh. 

Fried. 

4 30 

Lamb’ fresh. 

Broiled. 

2 30 

Venison steak. 

Broiled.... 

1 35 











































































































































356 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


PRESERVED FRUITS AND FRUIT EXTRACTS. 

The art of preserving fruits after the old method has largely 
given place to canning ; but yet it is proper that “ the art pre¬ 
servative of arts ” should preserve the art of preserving—if the 
reader will pardon the play upon words. 

Glass jars are better than earthen for canning and preserving 
fruits, as earthen is more or less porous, thus admitting air, and 
causing fermentation. Besides, when fermentation begins in 
the glass jars, it can be seen, when the preserves should be taken 
out and scalded, or the covers removed and the jars placed in a 
hot oven until they reach a boiling heat. 

PRESERVING. 

There are certain general rules that govern in making pre¬ 
serves. The fruit should be cooked through, but not overdone. 
There is no certain rule for sugaring, as some kinds of fruit 
require more sugar than others. 

Cherry Preserves. —Common sour cherries are best for 
this purpose ; stone, and take pound of sugar to pound of fruit; 
take half the sugar and sprinkle over the fruit; let it stand 
about 1 hour; pour into a preserving kettle; boil slowly 10 
minutes; skim out the cherries; add the remainder of the 
sugar to the syrup ; boil, skim and pour over the cherries ; the 
next day drain "off the syrup, boil, skim, add the cherries; boil 
20 minutes and seal in small jars. 

Black Currant Preserves. —Gather the currants upon a 
dry day; to every pound allow pint of red currant juice and 
1£ pounds of finely pounded loaf sugar. Clip off the heads and 
stalks; put the juice, currants and sugar in a preserving pan; 
shake it frequently until it boils; remove the fruit from the 
sides of the pan and take off the scum as it rises ; let it boil for 
10 or 15 minutes. 

Grape Preserves. —Pick from the stem, wash, drain and 
weigh; take the same amount of white sugar; put in a bright 
dish-pan; stir the grapes and sugar together; set in the oven 


PRESERVED FRUITS AND FRUIT EXTRACTS. 357 

until it is hot, then place on the stove, stirring continually from 
the bottom until it boils; set one side of the pan off the stove ; 
have the other side hot, and with a long-handled skimmer skim 
the seeds off as they rise on the cooler side. Guard carefully 
against burning. 

Peach Preserves. —Pare and stone your fruit and cut in 
halves; weigh, and allow 1 pound of sugar to 1 pound of fruit; 
crack peach stones and extract the kernels and put a few into 
the syrup while cooking. Put a layer of sugar into the kettle 
first, then a layer of fruit, and so on until all is used. Set where 
it will warm slowly until the sugar is melted and the fruit heated 
through; boil slowly until the peaches are tender and clear; 
take out with a perforated skimmer and lay upon large flat 
dishes. Beat the syrup almost to a jelly; fill the jars £ full of 
the fruit, pour in the boiling syrup, and when cold cover with 
brandied tissue paper, then with cloth, lastly with thick paper, 
tied tightly over them. The peaches ought to require only 30 
minutes* boiling ; the syrup 15 minutes longer. Stir often, and 
skim. Pears are put up in the same way, only less sugar, pared. 

Plum Preserves. —Allow to every pound of fruit a pound of 
sugar; put both into a porcelain or granite ware pan in alternate 
layers, and place in a moderately warm oven, to remain until the 
oven is cool. If prepared at tea time let remain until morning; 
then strain the juice from the plums and boil and clarify it. 
Remove the fruit carefully to glass or china jars ; pour over the 
hot syrup and carefully cover with egg, tissue paper, or thick 
white paper, or bladder tied closely down. 

Quince Preserves. —Pare, quarter and core the fruit, sav¬ 
ing the skins and cores. Put the quinces over the fire with just 
enough water to cover them, and simmer until perfectly tender, 
but they should not be allowed to break. Take out and spread 
upon dishes to cool; add the parings and cores to the water in 
which the quinces were boiled, and cook 1 hour; strain through 
a jelly-bag, and to every pint of this liquor allow a pound of 
sugar. Boil and skim this, put in the fruit, and let it boil 15 
minutes. Take off and let it stand in a deep dish 24 hours; 
drain off the syrup and let it boil again ; put in the quinces and 
cool 15 minutes. Take out the fruit and spread on dishes to- 


358 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

cool; boil down the syrup thick; put the fruit in jars until f 
full, then cover with the syrup. 

Fig Preserves. —Take the weight of ripe figs in sugar, the 
peel of 1 lemon, and juice of 2, to 5 or 6 pounds of figs. Let the 
figs soak in water 12 hours, then simmer in water until tender; 
take them out and drain. To each pound of sugar add a teacup 
of cold water; boil and skim until clear. Put in the figs and 
simmer 10 minutes; take them out and spread them in the sun 
for a short time, while you add the juice and peel of the lemons 
and a small teaspoonful of ginger to the syrup and boil until 
thick; put in the fruit and boil 15 minutes more. Fill your 
jars about f full of the fruit and fill up with hot syrup. Fig 
pickles, which are a nice condiment, may be had in much the 
same way ; less sugar, a little vinegar and spices. 

To Preserve Figs Dry. —The fig of commerce is imported 
from Asia Minor, and is traditionally associated with religious 
ideas imported from the same region. There is no more reason 
for importing the one than the other; especially when Ameri¬ 
can soil produces the best of figs. To preserve figs, first dry 
them thoroughly in the sun until they are dry enough to put up ; 
then take water, to which add borax in the proportion of 1 ounce 
to each 10 gallons; let the water boil; put in the dry figs 
till they come to the boiling point, then take them out with a 
skimmer, and placing them in a pan, put them in a hot oven 
until the water dries off. Then put them in a box, press them, 
and they are ready for market. 

Cider Apple Sauce. —Boil 2 barrels of new cider down to 
\ barrel. Pare, core, and slice up 3 bushels of apples (sweet 
apples are preferable), and put them into the cider thus reduced 
and still kept boiling briskly. Stir to prevent burning, being 
careful to not break the apples. Boil in a granite ware kettle, 
and, when done, put into a wooden firkin, or small cask; will 
keep for years. 

Pennsylvania Apple Butter. —Boil new cider down one 
half. Pare, cut, and core equal quantities of sweet and sour 
apples. Put the sweet apples in a large kettle to soften a little 
first, as they are the hardest. Add enough boiled cider to cook 
them. After boiling \ hour, stirring often, put in the sour 
apples, and add more boiled cider, with molasses enough to 


PRESERVED FRUITS AND FRUIT EXTRACTS 


359 


sweeten moderately. Boil until tender, stirring constantly to 
prevent burning, until of the consistency of soft butter. Pack 
in firkins or stone pots for winter use. 


TO CAN FRUITS. 


Fruit that is pared or cut, especially quinces and pears, should 
be boiled immediately, as the contact of the air with the cut 
surface changes its color very quickly. So also should the 
cooked fruit be transferred at once to the jars, which should be 
sealed up immediately while hot. The jars should also be hot 
when the fruit is put in, and to this end there is no better way 
than to place them while empty in a vessel of water that is kept 
boiling. Take them out, introduce the fruit, and screw the lid 
on at once. 

The time necessary to heat or cook fruit for canning (at a 
moderate heat only), and the amount of sugar proper to be used 
to each quart of fruit, is shown by the following table : 


Cherries. 

Raspberries. 

Blackberries. 

Plums. 

Strawberries. 

Whortleberries. 

Pie Plant, sliced. 

Small Sour Pears, whole. 

Bartlett Pears, in halves. 

Peaches, in halves. 

Peaches, whole... 

Pineapples, sliced £ inch thick 
Siberian Crab Apples, whole.. 

Quinces, quartered. 

Sour Apples, quartered. 

Ripe Currants. 

Wild Grapes. 

Tomatoes. 


TIME TO COOK . 

am’t of sugar . 

5 

minutes ... 

... 6 ounces . 

. 6 

“ 

... 4 

6 

it 

...6 

, 10 

ii 

...8 

8 

ii 

...8 

5 

ii 

... 4 

10 

ii 

...10 

30 

ii 

...8 

20 

ii 

...6 

. 8 

ii 

...4 

. 15 

ii 

...4 

, 15 

“ 

...6 

25 

ii 

...8 

12 

it 

...10 

10 


... 6 

6 

it 

...8 

, 10 

it 

... 8 

20 

it 

...10 


Berries. —Heat slowly to boiling, in a large kettle. When 
they begin to boil, add sugar in the proportion of 6 ounces to 
each quart of fruit. If there is much juice in the kettle, dip 
out the surplus before adding the sugar. Leave the berries 
almost dry before putting in the sugar, as this will make syrup 
enough. Boil all together 15 minutes, and can. All kinds of 
berries can be put up in this way, eaten as you would preserves, 
or made into pies, which are scarcely inferior to those made of 
fresh fruit. 









































360 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Cherries. —Wash and pit them; take 6 ounces of sugar to 1 
quart; cook the cherries in their own juice, boiling not to exceed 
five minutes, or they will lose their color and shape ; seal hot. 

Peaches. —For canning, the large yellow freestone Crawford 
peaches are the nicest. Take peaches that are ripe but not soft, 
pare them, cut in half, and stone, taking care not to break the 
fruit; drop each piece in cold water as soon as it is pared. To- 
each quart of fruit allow 4 ounces of sugar, scattering it between 
the layers. Fill your kettle and heat slowly to a boil. Boil 3 
minutes, so that every piece of fruit will be heated through. 
Can and seal. Before packing the fruit in the kettle, put in a 
cupful of water, lest the lower layer should burn. 

Pears. ^Peel the pears as thin as possible ; remove the blos¬ 
som end with a sharp knife; do not break the stem if you 
can avoid it; lay in cold water until you are ready to cook. 
Cover with cold water, when you have enough to fill a pan, and 
let boil until you can put a fork through ; drain and discard the 
water if it is discolored by the fruit, and make a syrup of the 
proportion of 1 cupful of water to 1 of sugar, and pour over the 
pears. Seal hot. The Bartlett pears are to be preferred, as 
they keep their color best. 

Pineapple, —Take pineapples as ripe as you can obtain 
them ; pare and slice \ inch thick ; chop fine. Cover with cold 
water and put sugar in proportion of 6 ounces to 1 quart. 
Let them cook until the fruit is tender. If not sweet enough 
add more sugar. Let boil up, and can. 

Plums.—Plums must be pricked with a needle to prevent 
bursting; make a syrup allowing 1 gill of pure water and 1 
pound of sugar to every 2 quarts of fruit. When the sugar is 
dissolved and the water blood-warm, put in the plums and heat 
slowly to a boil. Let them boil slowly 5 minutes, fill up the 
jars with plums, pour in the scalding syrup until it runs down 
the sides, and seal. If the plums boil fast they will break 
badly. 

TO CAN VEGETABLES. 

Corn. —Cut the corn off the cob, cook in plenty of water. 
To every 6 quarts of corn add 1 ounce of tartaric acid dissolved 
in a little hot water. Put the acid in before cooking. To pre¬ 
pare this for table, you should pour off the sour water (save it),. 


PRESERVED FRUITS AND FRUIT EXTRACTS. 361 

and put in fresh cold water. To a quart of corn add a small 
teaspoonful of soda. Let it stand a few minutes before cooking. 
While cooking, put in a teaspoonful of sugar. There is danger 
of getting in too much soda; if you should, and the corn turns 
yellow, pour back some of the sour water, and it will turn white 
again. A tablespoonful will likely be sufficient. 

Squash for Pies. —The Hubbards are to be preferred. 
Wash the outside and split them open so that you can put the 
pieces in the steamer with the outside down. When cooked, 
done, scrape out the inside, heat it hot, put into cans and seal. 

Tomatoes. —Pour boiling water over the tomatoes to loosen, 
the skins. Drain, peel and cut in two, or, if large, in quarters 
cook only a few at a time. If cooked too much they will be 
thin and watery. Can only the whole pieces. The broken 
pieces and juice may be boiled an hour or so longer and canned 
for tomato soup. Some prefer to remove all the hard parts 
before putting them on the fire, and rub the pulp soft with the 
hands. Boil 10 minutes, dip out the surplus liquid, pour the 
tomatoes boiling hot into cans, and seal. 

Wax for Canning Fruits. —Resin 1 pound, lard, tallow* 
and beeswax, each 1 ounce. Melt, and stir well together. 

DRIED, CANDIED AND SPICED FRUITS. 

To keep dried fruit from becoming wormy, after the process of 
scalding has been gone through with, and it has been put in 
sacks, scatter amongst it pieces of sassafras bark from the root. 
Secure the sacks well by tieing, and the fruit thus treated will 
keep well. 

Dried Watermelon Rinds.— After preserving, place in 
the sun to dry. They may be substituted in cakes for imported 
citron. 

Candied Citron. —Pare and seed. Let it lie over night in 
a weak sugar water. Next morning drain through a colander ; 
add to 1 pound of citron 1 pound of white sugar ; put the sugar 
on and boil until a thick syrup is formed ; drop in the citron and 
cook down thick; when done, pour out upon plates and leave 
near the stove until dry, then sprinkle with granulated sugar and 
keep in glass jars. Treat lemon and orange peel the same way, 

23 


■362 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

only it is not necessary to lay over night. Preserve citron in the 
same way, only taking \ pound sugar ; cook until clear and put 
away for use. 

Orange Citron. —Take thickest orange peel, soak in salt 
water 24 hours, then freshen the same length of time ; make a 
syrup of sugar, using a pound to each pound of peel, and boil 
until nearly transparent. 

Spiced Fruit. —To 7 pounds fruit take 3 pounds sugar, 1 
pint vinegar, cloves, cinnamon and mace to suit taste; sprinkle 
sugar over the fruit and let it stand over night, then boil juice, 
vinegar and spice 15 minutes. Put in the fruit and boil 10 
minutes. 

Spiced Currants. —One ounce cinnamon, \ ounce cloves, 
1 tablespoonful each of mace and allspice, well ground, 1 pint 
vinegar, 4 pounds currants and 2 pounds sugar. Boil the fruit 
with spices tied in a bag, and the sugar to a thick syrup. When 
nearly done add vinegar. Put away in jelly tumblers or glass 
cans. 

JELLIES, JAMS AND MARMALADES. 

For jellies, the fruit must be picked when just ripened, or 
jelly cannot be made from it. Place in a porcelain kettle, stems 
and all, or a brass or tin kettle may be used provided it is scoured 
very bright, and the fruit is removed as soon as taken from the 
fire. Use the best refined sugar. If two kinds of nice fruit are 
combined the flavor is generally much enhanced, for example, 
raspberries and currants. Crush a little of the fruit and put all 
together in the kettle, but add no water. As it heats, mash 
with a potato masher, and when hot strain through a jelly bag. 
To every pint of this juice add 1 pound sugar. Boil the juice 
25 minutes ; add the sugar and boil 5 more ; put up in glasses. 
Crabapple, quince, grapes, etc., are prepared in the same way. 
Allow a teacup of water to a pound of fruit; boil until very ten¬ 
der ; strain through a cloth, and treat as with currant jelly. 
Cherries will not jelly without gelatine, and the making of grape 
jelly is not always successful. Where gelatine is used allow a pack¬ 
age to each 2 quarts juice. For jams, the syrup is made as above. 
Use nice berries or other small fruit and thoroughly bruise before 
cooking. Boil 15 or 20 minutes before adding the sugar, and 


PRESERVED FRUITS AND FRUIT EXTRACTS. 363 

then boil £ hour longer. Jams require constant stirring with a 
wooden spoon, and the closest attention. 

Jellies should be examined before the close of summer and 
reboiled when there are any signs of fermentation. If there is 
trouble from mold, cover with buttered paper pressed down 
closely to the jelly, and paste as usual. 

To test jelly, drop a little in a glass of very cold water, and if 
it immediately falls to the bottom, it is cooked sufficiently. Or 
drop in a saucer and set on ice, and if it does not spread, but 
remains rounded, it is done. If not firm,' let it stand in the hot 
sun for a few days covered with thin cloth or window glass. 
Jellies and jams should be covered with paper dipped in the pur¬ 
est salad oil, with fine tissue paper stretched over the top, cut 
about two inches larger than the diameter of the jar, and brushed 
with the white of an egg. Set away in a dry, cool place. 

Grape Jelly. —Take fresh grapes ; put over the fire in 
a porcelain ware pan or kettle; crush a few berries on the 
bottom of the kettle to prevent burning; let them boil up; 
remove from the fire and hang up in the jelly bag to drain; 
when the juice is all drained off, weigh it and return to the ket¬ 
tle ; boil 20 minutes, skimming when necessary; add £ pound 
sugar to every pound of juice, and boil until of the desired thick¬ 
ness. Pale-colored jellies may be made in the same manner by 
removing the skins before cooking. 

Wine Jelly. —Dissolve 1 ounce of gelatine in a little over £ 
pint of cold water. Let it stand £ hour, then put in a little over 
■J pint boiling water, then \ pint wine ; sweeten to taste ; let it 
boil up, then strain through a flannel bag. 

Crabapple Jelly. —Cut Siberian crabapples to pieces, but 
de not pare or remove the seeds, as they improve the flavor of 
the jelly. Put into a stone jar, set in a pot of hot water, and 
let boil 8 or 9 hours. Cover closely and leave all night in 
the jar. Next morning, squeeze out the juice, adding 1 pound 
of sugar for every pint, and manage as you do currant jelly. A 
little water may be added, if the apples are very dry. 

Cranberry Jelly. —Make a very strong isinglass jelly. 
When cold, mix it with a double quantity of cranberry juice 
pressed, sweeten with loaf sugar, and let it boil up ; then strain 
it into a shape. 


364 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Lemon Jelly. —Dissolve £ box of gelatine in £ cupful of hot 
water. Take juice and rind of 1 lemon and 1 teacupful of sugar. 
Add the gelatine, and [stir well. Add nearly 1 quart of boiling 
water; then strain and place on the ice. 

Orange Jelly. —Grate the peel of 5 fine oranges and 2 lem¬ 
ons into a bowl; squeeze their juice into it; boil 1 pound of sugar 
in a quart of water, and, when boiling hard, pour it over 2 ounces, 
of isinglass; stir until dissolved; add the juice, strain 
through coarse muslin, and let stand until half cold ; then pour 
gently into molds which have been wet with cold water. Before 
turning out, put the molds into warm water; loosen the edges: 
with a spoon. 

Peach Jelly. —Wipe the down off the peaches, which should 
be free-stones, and not too ripe; cut them in quarters; crack 
the stones and break the kernels small; put the peaches and ker¬ 
nels into a covered jar; set into a kettle of hot water and let 
boil until soft; strain through a jelly bag. Allow a pound of 
loaf sugar to a pint of juice; put the juice into a preserving 
kettle and let it boil briskly 15 or 20 minutes; add the sugar,, 
and dissolve ; skim carefully and pour into glasses. 

Plum Jelly. —Pour boiling water over the plums sufficient 
to cover them. Pour off the water immediately, and drain. Place 
the plums in a preserving kettle with boiling water enough to> 
cover them again, and boil until they begin to open and some of 
the juice is extracted ; pour off the liquid and strain it; to each 
pint of juice add 1 pound of white sugar ; return to the kettle 
and boil for 20 or 30 minutes, as may be required. 

Quince Jelly.— Peel, cut up and core a quantity of fine, ripe 
quinces; put them in sufficient cold water to cover them, and 
stew gently until soft, but not red. Strain the juice without 
pressure, weigh, and to every pound of juice allow 1 pound of 
crushed sugar. Boil the juice 20 minutes, add the sugar, and 
boil again until it jellies, say about £ hour ; stir and skim well ; 
strain through thin cloth into jelly glasses and cover when cold. 
The remainder of the fruit can be made into marmalade with 
£ pound of sugar and £ pound of juicy apples to every pound of 
quinces, or it can be made into pies and tarts. 

Apple Jelly.— Peel and core a quantity of apples and stew 
them until there are no lumps in the mass; strain through a 


PRESERVED FRUITS AND FRUIT EXTRACTS. 365 

coarse sieve, pressing them through with the hand. Throw out 
all tough bits ; take a tin cup and measure the cooked apples and 
to every 4 cups add 1 cup of fine, dry sugar. Boil until it makes 
a stiff jam ; put in bowls and jars and set in a cool, dry place. 

Peach Butter —Can be made in this way from dried peaches, 
■only to every 3 cups of peach sauce add 1 cup of sugar. 

Galf’s Foot Jelly . —Take 2 calffs feet; add to them 1 gal¬ 
lon of water; boil down to 1 quart, strain, and when cold remove 
all fat; add the whites of 6 or 8 well-beaten eggs, •§■ pound of 
.sugar, and the juice of 4 lemons ; mix well. Boil for a minute, 
constantly stirring ; strain through a flannel bag. 

Currant Jelly. —Allow 1 pound of sugar to 1 pint of juice ; 
boil juice hard 15 minutes; heat the sugar in the oven, add the 
juice, and boil hard 5 minutes; put into molds, sprinkle with 
pulverized sugar, and seal either hot or cold. 

Apple Jam. —After peeling and coring the tart apples, cut 
in thin slices and put them in a preserving kettle with j- pound 
-of white sugar to every pound of fruit; add a few cloves, a 
small piece of ginger and a thin rind of lemon, all tied up in a 
piece of muslin ; stir over a quick fire for \ hour. 

Apricot Jam. —Pare ripe apricots as thinly as possible; 
break them in halves and remove the stones, weigh the fruit, and 
to every pound allow the same proportion of loaf sugar ; roll the 
sugar fine, strew it over the apricots, which should be placed on 
dishes, and remain there for 12 hours ; then put the sugar and 
fruit into a preserving pan, let them simmer very gently until 
clear, take out the pieces of apricots singly as they become clear, 
and as fast as the scum rises carefully remove it; put the fruit 
into small jars, pour over them the syrup, and put up the same 
as jelly. 

C arrant Jam. —Pick the fruit very nicely, and allow an 
•equal quantity of powdered loaf sugar; put a layer of each 
alternately in a preserving pan and boil 10 minutes; or they may 
be boiled the same length of time in sugar previously clarified 
and boiled, like candy. 

Gooseberry Jam. —Any quantity of ripe gooseberries, and 
half as much lump sugar ; break them well and boil together for 
\ hour or more ; can and secure as other jams. 


366 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Grape Jam. —Pulp the grapes, saving the skins; put the 
grapes and juice into a pan and cook for a moment; strain 
through a colander, and add the skins. Allow 1 pint of sugar 
to each quart; cook until quite thick, and put away in jars. 

Peach Jam. —Peel the peaches, and cut them up, adding J 
of their weight in sugar; the jam will not require any water if 
cooked slowly and with care. Cook over a slow fire for 2 or 3 
hours. Seal in cans, or put away in jars. The peaches must be 
riper than for canning. 

Raspberry Jam,— Three-fourths of a pound of sugar to 
each pound of fruit; put the fruit on alone or with the addition 
of -J- pint of currant juice to every 4 pounds of fruit; boil \ 
hour, mashing and stirring well; add the sugar and cook 20 min¬ 
utes more. 

For Blackberry Jam.— Pursue much the same course, 
omitting the currant juice. 

Strawberry Jam. —To every pound of fruit allow f- pound 
of sugar, and 1 pint of red currant juice to every 4 pounds of 
strawberries. Boil the currant juice with the strawberries for £ 
hour, stirring all the time; add the sugar and boil 20 minutes 
more, skimming carefully. The currant juice may be omitted, 
but it is an improvement. 

Peach Marmalade. —Pare, stone and weigh the fruit; heat 
slowly to draw out the juice, stirring up often from the bottom 
with a wooden spoon. After it is hot, boil quickly, still stirring, 
f hour. Add sugar, allowing f pound to each pound of fruit. 
Boil up well 5 minutes, taking off all the scum. For every 3 
pounds of fruit, add the juice of a lemon, and the water in which 
J of the kernels have been boiled and steeped. Stew all together 
10 minutes, stirring to a smooth paste. Put up hot in air-tight 
cans, or, when cold, in small stone or glass jars, placing bran- 
died paper on the surface of the marmalade. The flavor is 
improved by stirring in with the peaches a ripe pineapple, cut 
up fine. 

Pineapple Marmalade. —Pare, slice, core and weigh the 
pineapple; then cut into small bits. Make a syrup of 1 teacup¬ 
ful of water to 2 pounds of sugar; melt and heat to a boil. Heat 
the fruit in a vessel placed within one of boiling water, covering 
it closely to keep in the flavor. When it is hot throughout and 


VINEGAR, PICKLES AND CATSUPS. 367 

looks clear, adcl to the syrup, and boil together £ hour, or until 
it is a clear, bright paste. 

Quince Marmalade. —Pare, core and slice the fruit; stew 
the skins, cores and seed in a vessel by themselves, with water 
enough to cover them. Strain off the water through a thick 
cloth, when it has simmered long enough to extract all the flavor, 
and the parings are broken to pieces. When this water is almost 
cold put the quinces into a preserve kettle, and pour it over them, 
stirring and mashing the fruit with a wooden spoon as it becomes 
soft. Add the juice of 2 oranges to every 3 pounds of fruit. 
When reduced to a smooth paste, stir in f pound of sugar for 
every pound of fruit; boil 10 minutes more, stirring constantly. 
When cool put into small jars, with brandied papers over them. 

Crabapple marmalade is made in the same way. 


VINEGAR, PICKLES AND CATSUPS.' 

The tendency in modern housekeeping is to purchase many 
commodities ready prepared which in former years were largely 
or wholly things of domestic production. While this is a con¬ 
venience, and in many cases perhaps economy, there is no secur¬ 
ity that the articles purchased are pure, owing to the prevalent 
commercial vice of adulteration. This may be said with refer¬ 
ence to the table preparations of commerce, that while they are 
better than a poor domestic article, they are far inferior to the 
best of domestic production. While the things treated of under 
this head —“ Vinegar, Pickles and Catsups”—are largely articles 
of commerce, their domestic production should nevertheless be 
encouraged, and they are therefore embodied in the division of 
this work devoted to Domestic Economy and the Household. 

VINEGAR. 

Quick Method of Making Vinegar.— Take a cask or 
hogshead with the head out, and a faucet near the bottom ; fill 
it with corn-cobs or green beach chips ; over these lay a coffee 
sack, and cover it with fine shavings, to keep the heat in. Next 
throw on some good vinegar, and let it soak in for a few hours; 



368 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

then draw it off through the faucet and throw it on again, 
repeating this until the cobs or chips are thoroughly soured, and 
adding each time 1 quart of alcohol to the vinegar before throw¬ 
ing it back ; this addition prevents the vinegar from becoming 
flat by the absorption of the acid. Then mix 1 gallon 90 per 
cent, alcohol, and 1 quart molasses, with 14 gallons soft water; 
pour it into the cask, draw it off and put it on again 2 or 3 
times a day until sour. Sour ale, or the rinsings of sugar hogs¬ 
heads, may be utilized in this way. It is better for the fluid to 
be weak at first, adding the molasses or other material by degrees. 
By following this plan, the strength of the vinegar may be grad¬ 
ually increased to almost any extent. 

Good Cider Vinegar. —Take 10 gallons apple juice fresh 
from the press, and suffer it to ferment fully, which may be in 
about 2 weeks, or sooner if the weather is warm; then add 8 
gallons like juice, new, for producing a second fermentation ; 
in 2 weeks more add another like new quantity, for producing a 
third fermentation. This third fermentation is material. Now 
stop the bunghole with an empty bottle, with the neck down¬ 
ward, and expose it to the sun for some time. When the vine¬ 
gar is come, draw off \ into a vinegar cask, and set it in a cool 
place above ground, for use when clear. With the other \ in 
the first cask, proceed to make more vinegar in the same way. 
Thus one cask is to make in, the other to use from. When 
making the vinegar, let there be a moderate degree of heat, and 
free access of external air. The process is hastened by adding 
to the cider, when you have it, a quantity of the mother of vin¬ 
egar, as it is called. 

To Keep a Supply of Cheap Vinegar.— A supply of 
vinegar can be kept constantly on hand in the following manner : 
Before a barrel is quite out, fill up the barrel with 1 gallon 
molasses to every 11 gallons soft water. This mixture will 
become good vinegar in about 3 weeks—and can be treated in its 
turn in the same way. Openings must be protected with gauze 
to keep out insects. 

Vinegar in Three Weeks.— Mix in the following pro¬ 
portions : 1 quart molasses, 1 pint yeast to 3 gallons warm rain 
water. Put the mixture into a keg or barrel with the bunghole 
open, but protected with gauze against insects. 


VINEGAR, PICKLES AND CATSUPS. 


369 


To Strengthen Weak Vinegar, —If in pickles, turn it 
off, heat it scalding hot, put it on the pickles, and when luke¬ 
warm, put in a small piece of alum the size of a filbert, and a 
brown paper 4 inches square, wet with molasses. If it does not 
grow sharp in 2 weeks it is past recovery, and must be thrown 
away. Or, freeze it and remove the ice which forms on the sur¬ 
face. The water of the vinegar alone freezes, leaving the Acetic 
Acid in solution in the remaining water. 

Raspberry Vinegar. —Bruised ripe raspberries and white 
wine vinegar, of each 3 pints; macerate 24 hours, press, strain, 
and to each pint add white sugar 1 pound; boil, skim, cool, 
and to each pint add brandy 2 ounces. In a similar way may be 
made Strawberry Vinegar and Cherry Vinegar. 

Vinegar from Acetic Acid.— A pint of Acetic Acid, 
costing say fifty cents, added to 3 quarts of water, makes a pure, 
wholesome, strong vinegar. 

To Detect Adulteration in Vinegar. —When vinegar 
is adulterated with Nitric Acid, place a small quantity in a tin 
cup, and put into it cuttings and scrapings from a common 
goose-quill; then apply heat; if the bits of quill are stained 
yellow. Nitric Acid is present. When Oxalic Acid is in vinegar 
it may be detected by mixing 2 parts of the vinegar with 1 part 
Aqua Ammonia, and adding Lime water equal to the whole; a 
free white precipitate of Oxalate of Lime will result. 

PICKLES. 

In making pickles, use none but the best cider vinegar. Never 
keep pickles in glazed earthenware, but in wood, glass or hard 
stoneware, and well covered with vinegar. They should be 
examined every month or two, and soft pieces removed. If 
there is much tendency to soften, it is advisable to strain off the 
vinegar, add to each gallon a cupful of sugar, boil it, and return it 
to the pickle jar while hot. The occasional addition of a little 
sugar keeps pickles good, and improves them. Spices in pickles 
should be used whole, slightly bruised, but preferably not ground ; 
if ground, they should be tied up in thin muslin bags. Most 
pickles, if well kept, improve with age, by the vinegar losing its 
raw taste, and the flavor of the spices, etc., improving and 
blending. 


370 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Spiced Vinegar for Pickles. —Bruise in a mortar 2 
ounces black pepper, 1 ounce ginger, ounce allspice, and 1 
ounce salt. If a hotter pickle is desired, add 1 drachm ground 
. cayenne pepper. For walnuts add also 1 ounce shallots. Put 
these in a stone jar, with a quart of vinegar, and cover them 
with a bladder wetted with the pickle, and over this a piece of 
leather. Set the jar near the fire for 3 days, shaking it 3 times 
a day; then pour it on the walnuts or other vegetables. To 
save time, it is usual to simmer the vinegar gently with the 
spices, which is best done in a porcelain lined sauce-pan. For 
walnuts it is used hot; for cabbage, etc., cold or hot. 

Cucumbers. —Make a salt brine strong enough to bear up 
an egg, boil and skim it, pour upon the cucumbers and let 
stand 24 hours. Take good vinegar, cloves, pepper, and cinna¬ 
mon, and boil together. Place the cucumbers in a large stone 
jar, and pour the hot spiced vinegar over them. If you wish 
them green, add a little alum with the spices, to boil in the vin¬ 
egar. Cover them well. Some add 2 cupfuls of sugar to every 
gallon of vinegar. 

To Color Pickles Green. —Dissolve 5 grains saffron in J 

ounce soft water; in another vessel dissolve 4 grains indigo 
carmine in \ ounce soft water. Shake each up thoroughly; let 
stand for 24 hours, and mix. A fine green solution is obtained, 
free from any poisonous properties. 

Cabbage.— Halve and quarter 25 small heads of cabbage. 
Lay them in a wooden tray, sprinkle thickly with salt, and set 
in the cellar until next day. Drain off the brine, wipe dry, lay 
in the sun 2 hours, and cover with cold vinegar for 12 hours. 
Season vinegar with equal parts of mace, cloves, and whole peppers, 
enough to cover the cabbage, add a cupful of sugar to every gal¬ 
lon of vinegar, and a teaspoonful of celery seed for every pint. 
Pack the cabbage in a stone jar ; boil the vinegar and spices 5 
minutes and pour on hot. Cover and set away in a cool dry 
place for 6 weeks. 

Cauliflower.— These should be sliced, and salted for 2 or 3 
days, then drained, and spread upon a dry cloth before the fire 
for 24 hours ; after which they are put into a jar, and covered 
with spiced vinegar. If vegetables are put into cold salt and 
water (J pound salt to 1 quart water), and gradually heated to a. 


VINEGAR, PICKLES AND CATSUPS. 371 

boiling heat, it answers the same purpose as letting them lie 
some days in salt. 

Celery. —Separate the stalks from the head, clean them thor¬ 
oughly, and put into salt and water strong enough to bear 
an egg ; let remain in this for 1 week or 10 days, or until 
wanted to pickle; then take out, wash well in clean water, 
drain dry, place in a jar, and pour on boiling vinegar, to which 
any approved spices may have been added. As is usual for 
pickling, keep it well covered with vinegar ; if the celery is 
allowed to remain a long time in salt and water, it will be neces¬ 
sary to soak it in clean water for a day or two, changing the 
water occasionally. 

Nasturtions. —Collect nasturtions, soak them in salt and 
water 3 days, changing it once; when you have enough, pour 
off the brine, and pour on scalding vinegar. 

Onions. —Take fine white onions — not too large—peel 
and let them stand in strong brine for 4 days, changing the 
brine twice. Heat more brine to a boil, throw in the onions and 
boil 3 minutes. Throw them in cold water and leave them there 
for 4 hours. Scatter among them whole mace, white peppercorns, 
and cloves; pack in jars. Fill up with scalding vinegar, and 
put in 1 cupful of sugar for every gallon. Cork while hot. 
They can be used in a month, but will be better at the end of 
3 months. 

Peppers. —After taking out the seeds carefully from green 
peppers, soak them 9 days in salt and water, changing the water 
every day, and keeping in a warm place. Stuff with chopped 
cabbage, seasoned with cinnamon, cloves and mace; put in 
cold spiced vinegar. 

Plums. —Take the plums before they are quite ripe, and put 
into a saucepan with some white wine vinegar, salt water, 
fennel seed, and dill, as much of each as will impart a flavor to 
the pickle; when it boils put in the plums, let it boil again, 
then take it off ; let it stand till cold, then put into jars. 

Tomatoes, —Mix in a stone jar 1 ounce of mustard, ounce 
of cloves, i ounce of pepper, with jar of vinegar. Lay in the 
tomatoes with 1 dozen onions, and cover it close for a month. 
They will then be fit for use, and if the jar is kept well covered. 


.372 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

will keep for a year. The onions may be omitted and more 
spices substituted. Do not select tomatoes that are very ripe. 

Barberries. —Barberries make very good pickles, and are 
always useful in ornamenting certain dishes. Leave the bar¬ 
berries on the stem, lay them in a stone jar and fill it up with 
.cold vinegar. 

Green Tomato. —Slice green tomatoes and put them in a 
basket, in layers, to drain, scattering salt over them, about a tea¬ 
cupful to each gallon. Next day slice £ the quantity of onions, 
and lay them and the tomatoes in alternate layers in a jar, with 
spices between the layers. Fill the jar with cold vinegar. 

Chow Chow. —Chop together very finely a head of cabbage, 
6 green peppers, 6 green tomatoes, add 2 teaspoons of mustard, 
salt to taste, vinegar to moisten; and if desired, cloves and all¬ 
spice. It is then ready for use and will keep a long time. 

Mangoes. —Take small green melons that are fine and hard, 
cut out an oval shaped piece, remove the inside and lay them in 
weak brine 24 hours. Drain them and fill with green cucum¬ 
bers, small onions, horseradish shreded fine, mustard seed, whole 
black pepper, allspice, cloves and ginger root. Sew in with 
coarse thread the piece that was taken out. Place in a jar and 
cover with scalded vinegar, to which add 1 coffee cupful of 
brown sugar and 2 dozen red peppers. 

Peach Mangoes. —Take sound, ripe, freestone peaches; 
wipe off the fur ; split them open ; take out the pits ; have ready 
some fine chopped tomatoes, cabbage, horseradish, and mustard 
seed ; fill the vacancy in the peach ; then place them together, 
and tie with a string; fill your jars with spiced vinegar. 

Sweet Pickles. —To 3 pounds of sugar add 1 pint of good 
vinegar, spices to your taste; boil together, then let cool; 
fill the jars with clean and sound fruit, such as peaches, pears, 
plums, cherries and grapes (each kind in a separate jar); then, 
when the vinegar is cool, put it on the fruit; let it stand all 
night, then turn off the liquor, and boil it down a little ; then 
let it cool, and pour it in the jars; cover nicely, and put in a 
cool place. If, in time, you discover a white scum on the top, 
skim it off, turn off the vinegar, add a little sugar, and boil it; 
when cool, pour it on the fruit again, and you will have a 
delightful pickle. 


VINEGAR, PICKLES AND CATSUPS. 


373 


CATSUPS AND SAUCES. 

Tomato Catsup. —Take 1 peck ripe tomatoes, cut a slit in 
each, and put them into a porcelain lined kettle. Boil until the 
pulp is dissolved ; strain and press, first through a colander, then 
through a hair sieve ; then boil for 5 hours with 1 ounce salt, 1 
ounce mace, 1 tablespoonful black pepper, 1 teaspoonful cayenne 
pepper, 1 tablespoonful powdered cloves, 7 of ground mustard, 
and 1 of celery seed; this last tied in a thin muslin bag; stir 
frequently, especially during the last hour ; turn it into a stone 
jar to cool; and, when cold, add 1 pint strong vinegar; take 
out the bag of celery seed, and bottle. Seal the corks, and keep 
in a dark, cool place. 

Chili Catsup. —Eighteen large, ripe tomatoes, 8 red pep¬ 
pers, 1 onion ; chop fine ; add 4 cups vinegar, 4 tablespoonfuls' 
sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls salt, 1 tablespoonful ginger, 1 tablespoon¬ 
ful each of cloves, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg; boil 1 hour. 
This will make about 3 quarts. 

Table Mustard. —Mix 8 spoonfuls of flour of mustard with 
2 of salt and 9 of water. Mix to a smooth paste, add 6 spoon¬ 
fuls more water, and mix. 

French Table Mustard. —Take of best flour of mustard,. 
2 pounds, fresh parsley, chervil, celery, and tarragon, of each £ 
ounce, some garlic, 1 clove, 12 salt anchovies (all well chopped); 
grind well together, add of salt 1 ounce, grape juice or sugar 
sufficient to sweeten, with sufficient water to form the mass into- 
a thinnish paste by trituration in a mortar. When put into pots,, 
a red-hot poker is to be thrust into each, and a little vinegar 
afterwards poured upon the surface. 

Flavoring Extract. —A superior flavoring essence'for soups, 
gravies, seasonings, etc., is prepared as follows : Take of lemon, 
thyme, winter savory, sweet marjoram, and sweet basil, of each 
1 ounce; grated lemon peel and eschalots, of each -J ounce; 
bruised celery seed J ounce, proof spirit 1 pint. Digest for 10 
to 14 days. 


374 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


WASHING, REPAIRING AND RENOVATING. 

Besides the family washing, which requires to be attended to 
-every week, it needs a steady oversight to keep the appurte¬ 
nances of a household in repair from year to year. Carpets need 
turning, darning, and mending at least twice a year; curtains 
need to be watched, especially lace ones, and any rent or break 
at once mended. Table cloths are liable to be torn in the wash, 
and the hemmed ends frayed out by the wind ; napkins will go 
astray or develop ragged corners. These things, if not attended 
to, will give an air of dilapidation to the house and family as if 
both were going down the hill of poverty. The same care must 
-extend to sheets and pillow-cases, which need looking after every 
week, not forgetting, also, the family apparel. 

THE LAUNDRY. 

To Make Soap. —The first requisite is good lye. A com¬ 
mon barrel, set upon an inclined platform, makes a very good 
leach, but one made of boards set in a trough in V shape is to 
be preferred, for the strength of the ashes is better obtained, and 
it may be taken to pieces when not in use, and laid up. The 
manner of packing a leach is well known, first putting in 
some small brush or light sticks, and covering with a piece of 
old carpet, woolen cloth, or straw, putting the ashes in 
gradually, wetting and packing them.. It is difficult to 
obtain the full strength of ashes in a barrel without removing 
them after a day’s leaching, and mixing them up and replacing. 
The top should be first thrown off, and new ashes added to make 
up the proper quantity. Use boiling water for second leaching. 
This lye should be sufficiently strong to float a potato. Take 
about 4 gallons lye, and boil thoroughly with 12 pounds of clear 
grease in a large kettle, then add the lye as it is obtained, keep¬ 
ing a slow fire, and stirring often, until you have a barrel of 
soap. After boiling the grease and 4 gallons of lye together, it 
may be put in a barrel and the rest of the lye added there, which 
will form good soap if frequently stirred, but the heating process 
is the best when weather and time will permit the work to be done. 


WASHING, REPAIRING AND RENOVATING. 375 

Easy Washing. —The washerwomen of Holland and Bel¬ 
gium, so proverbially clean, and who get their linen so beauti¬ 
fully white, use refined borax as washing powder instead of soda, 
in the proportion of \ pound of borax powder to 10 gallons of 
water. They save soap nearly one-half. All the large washing 
establishments adopt the same mode. For laces, cambrics, etc., 
an extra quantity of powder is used ; and for crinolines (requir¬ 
ing to be made stiff), a stronger solution is necessary. Borax, 
being a neutral salt, does not in the slightest degree injure the 
texture of the linen. Its effect is to soften the hardest water, 
and therefore it should be kept on the toilet table. 

To Cleanse Hard Water. —For every 100 gallons take 
pound of the best quick-lime ; make it into a cream by the 
addition of water ; then diffuse it through the water in the tank 
or reservoir, and allow it to stand. It will quickly become bright. 
The lime having united with the carbonate of lime, which makes 
the hard water, will be deposited. 

To Wash Lace Curtains. —First, after they are taken 
down, dust them with a brush or soft wisp broom. Then put 
them into cold water for 8 hours at least, without soap. Wring 
out of this water, and have a warm soapsuds, with Aqua 
Ammonia added; allow them to remain in this 2 hours or 
more. Do not rub, but pass them gently through the hand. 
Then wash in a clean suds, made as above, passing through the 
hand and gently pressing them. To boil, have the water 
strictly cold and allow them to boil fast for not more than 5 
minutes. 

To have very nice, when the water begins to boil drain it 
off, and fill the boiler with cold water again, as it is the grad¬ 
ual heating of the water, and not the boiling that whitens lace 
of any kind, or wearing apparel. Rinse in a bountiful supply of 
water, then again in water with bluing in it. 

To Wash Book-Muslin. —Put the dress in a strong suds 
made'of white soap and warm water, and wash it well; squeezing 
and pressing instead of rubbing, as it tears easily. Wash in a 
second suds, and then pass it through 2 rinsing waters; add a 
very little blue to the last. Open the dress, and, while wet, run 
it through a thin starch diluted with water; stretch, and 
hang it in the sun to dry. Then sprinkle and roll jjx a 


376 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

towel, letting it lie \ hour. Open, stretch even, and clap 
it in your hands till clear all over. Iron before it is too dry, 
on the wrong side. Be careful not to scorch it. When done, 
do not fold the dress, but hang in a press or wardrobe. Be sure 
to get the hem even in^roning; some rip out the hems of mus- 
lin dresses before washing. 

To Wash Colored Calicos or Lawns. —Pour boiling 

water upon black calicos when dry, then wash them out of dif¬ 
ferent waters until the dye stops coming out. Put a little salt 
in the remaining water and dry quickly. 

Or, pour boiling water on wheat bran, strain it, and when 
lukewarm wash them in it, using no soap. To set green, put 
alum in the water and dip the calico, letting it get thoroughly 
wet before taking out, and rinse in salt water the same as- 
black. A little sugar of lead in the water will set most blues. 
No calicos should be allowed to remain wet one moment longer 
than necessary. 

To Prevent Calicos Fading. —Dissolve \ pint of salt in 
1 quart of boiling water, and while hot put the dress in, let- 
lie several hours, then wring dry and wash as usual. 

To Whiten Clothes. —Put a teaspoonful of Spirits of Tur¬ 
pentine into the boiler of hot water before the clothes are 
immersed. 

To Wash Woolen Hose. —Woolen hose should be soaked 
all night, and washed in hot suds with beef's gall; one table- 
spoonful to £ pail of water. Iron on the wrong side. 

To Wash Flannel. —Have the water comfortably warm 
for the hand; a little Aqua Ammonia added to the water is a 
benefit, say 2 tablespoonfuls to 1 bucket of water. Use a small 
amount of soap, only just enough to make a light suds. Wash 
the flannel as quickly as possible, rubbing on no soap unless abso¬ 
lutely necessary. To rinse, pour into a tub some boiling water 
and plunge the goods into it, stirring them about with a stick ; 
do not allow them to cool in this water, but wring while hot (but 
not so hot as to injure the wringer), and shake well before hang¬ 
ing out. A little bluing may be added to the rinsing water. 
Shake well so as to remove the lint which, if dried into the gar¬ 
ments, makes them hard. Do not dry flannel in a cold place ; 
never dry out of doors unless in hot summer weather. 


WASHING, REPAIRING AND RENOVATING. 377 

To Wash Flannel That Has Become Yellow.— Boil 
4 tablespoonfuls of flour in 4 quarts of water, stirring it well. 
Then pour of the boiling liquid over the flannel, let remain 
till the water cools, rub the flannel, but use no soap. Rinse 
through several waters, then repeat the process with the remain¬ 
der of the flour and water in a boiling state; again rinse 
through several waters and hang up to drain and dry. Do not 
wring it. 

To Whiten Flannel When Yellow. —This may be done 
by putting the flannel into a solution of hard soap, to which 
strong Aqua Ammonia has been added. Take 1£ pounds of hard 
soap, 50 pounds of soft water, and f pound of strong ammonia. 
A shorter process is to place the garments for £ hour in a weak 
solution [of Bisulphate of Soda, to which a little Hydrochloric 
Acid has been added. 

Hints on Ironing. —Be careful in ironing lace, ribbons or 
any long, narrow strips, not to stretch them crooked, but iron 
them slowly, straight, and evenly; and with the point of the 
iron press out every scallop separately. Needlework should 
always be ironed on the wrong side. In ironing collars, care: 
should be taken not to stretch one half the collar more than the- 
other. They should be ironed first lengthways, then crossways. 
Sheets and table-cloths should be ironed with a large iron pressed 
on them heavily. 

All colored clothes require a cooler iron than white clothes, as 1 , 
too great heat is liable to injure the colors. Chintz should be 
ironed on the wrong side, as the starch is apt to show on colored 
clothing when ironed on the right side. 

Gum Water Starch Gloss. —Procure 2 ounces of fine 
white Gum Arabic, and pound it to powder. Put into a pitcher, 
and pour on a pint or more of boiling water, according to the 
degree of strength desired ; having covered it, let set all night. 
In the morning, pour it carefully from the dregs into a clean bot¬ 
tle, cork and keep for use. A tablespoonful of gum water stirred 
into a pint of starch that has been made in the usual manner, 
will give a beautiful gloss to shirt-bosoms, and to lawns (either 
white or printed), a look of newness to which nothing else can 
restore them after washing. It is also good (much diluted) for 
thin white muslin and bobbinet. 

24 


378 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

CLEANING AND RESTORING CLOTHS AND FEATHERS. 

The common method of cleaning cloth is by beating and brush¬ 
ing, unless when very dirty, when it undergoes the operation of 
scouring. This is best done on a small scale, as for articles of 
wearing apparel, etc., by dissolving a little curd soap in water, 
and, after mixing with a little ox-gall, to touch over all the spots 
with it, and to rub them well with a stiff brush, until they are 
removed, after which the article may be well rubbed all over 
with a brush or sponge dipped into some warm water, to which 
the previous mixture and a little more ox-gall has been added. 
When this has been properly done, it only remains to thoroughly 
rinse the article in clean water until the latter passes off uncol¬ 
ored, when it must be hung up to dry. For dark-colored cloths 
the common practice is to add some fullers’-earth to the mixture 
of soap and gall. When nearly dry, the nap should be laid right, 
and the article carefully pressed, after which a brush, moistened 
with a drop or two of olive oil, is passed several times over, which 
will give it a superior finish. 

To Revive the Color of Black Cloth. —If a coat, clean 
it well, then boil from 2 to 4 ounces of Logwood in a boiler 
for i hour; dip the coat in warm water, and squeeze it dry; 
then put into the kettle and boil for | hour. Take out and 
add a piece of Green Copperas, about the size of a pecan 
nut; boil another \ hour, then draw, and hang in the air 
for an hour or two; take it down, rinse in 2 or 3 cold waters; 
dry, and let it be well brushed with a soft brush, over which a 
drop or two of Sweet Oil has been rubbed, then stroke the coat 
regularly over. 

To Clean Black Cloth. —Black cloth may be cleaned so 
as to look almost as good as new. With a pint of water mix 
teaspoonful of Spirits of Ammonia, and a tablespoonful of Alco¬ 
hol. Apply with a sponge, and, when necessary, use a nail-brush 
to cleanse thoroughly the soiled places. Sponge off with clear 
water, and hang to dry. This is good to restore shiny and rusty 
goods, and bring back their newness. 

To Clean Cotton Goods. —Add to hot rain water an amount 
of wheat bran equal to | of the fabric to be cleansed, and after 
stirring well for 5 minutes, add the goods. Stir them about 
with a clean stick, and bring the articles to a boil. Allow the 


WASHING, REPAIRING AND RENOVATING. 379 

mixture to cool until the goods can be washed out, after which 
rinse them well. 

To Remove Iron Mold.— Dissolve 1 teaspoonful of Muri¬ 
ate of Tin in 2 tablespoonfuls of water. Dip the spots of mold into 
the solution and let remain 5 minutes. Then dip into a mix¬ 
ture of equal parts of Muriatic Acid and water. Dip the mold 
spots alternately into these mixtures, or make the first one 
stronger with the Muriate of Tin, and apply with a soft cloth 
on the end of a stick. Last of all, rinse the article very thor¬ 
oughly in cold water. 

Another simple method of removing iron mold succeeds well, 
providing it is recent and not very dark : Tie up a teaspoonful 
of cream of tartar in the molded place, put it into cold water 
without soap, and boil it £ hour. These processes may be tried 
for fruit or wine stains with success. 

To Remove Iron Mold and Ink Stains.— These may 
be taken out by wetting the spots in milk, then covering them 
with common salt. It should be done before the garments have 
been washed. Another way to take out ink is to dip it in melted 
tallow. For fine, delicate articles this is the best way. 

Another Method. —Oxalic Acid dissolved in water (not 
too strong) will remove ink stains and iron rust. Articles must 
be thoroughly rinsed after the stains are removed. The acid 
should be applied and then the garment laid in the sun. Repeated 
applications may be necessary. Oxalic Acid is a poison, and 
should be handled with caution. 

To Remove Fruit Stains from Linen. —Dip in sour 
buttermilk and dry in the sun; wash in cold water and dry 2 or 
3 times a day. 

To Remove Mildew. —Mix soft soap with powdered starch, 

£ as much salt, and the juice of a lemon, and lay on with a 
brush. Lay it on the grass day and night till the stain is gone. 

To Remove Perspiration Stains. —For removing the 
stains of perspiration a strong solution of soda is first to be 
applied, with a subsequent rinsing with water. 

To Clean Ostrich Feathers. —Cut some white curd soap 
in small pieces, pour boiling water on them, and add a little 
pearlash. When the soap is quite dissolved, and the mixture 
cool enough for the hand to bear, plunge the feathers into it. 


380 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

draw the feathers through the hand until the dirt appears 
squeezed out of them, pass them through a clean lather with 
some blue in it, then rinse in cold water with blue to give them 
a good color. Beat them against the hand to shake out the 
water, and dry by shaking them near a fire. When dry, curl 
each fibre separately with a blunt knife or ivory paper-folder. 

To Clean Swansdown. —White swansdown may be washed 
in soap and water; after washing, shake it out, and when the 
down is somewhat raised, shake it before a clear fire to dry. 

To Curl Feathers. —Heat them slightly before the fire, 
then stroke them with the back of a knife, and they will curl. 

To Restore Crape. —Skimmed milk and water, with a 
little bit of glue in it, made scalding-hot, is excellent to restore 
rusty Italian crape. If clapped and pulled dry like muslin, it 
will look as good as new; or, brush the veil till all the dust is 
removed, then fold it lengthwise, and roll it smoothly and 
tightly on a roller. Steam till it is thoroughly dampened, and 
dry on the roller. 

To Cleanse Feather Beds. —When feather beds become 
soiled and heavy, they may be made clean and light by being 
treated in the following manner : Wash the outside of the tick 
with a stiff brush, dipped in hot soapsuds. When clean, lay on 
a shed, or any other clean place, where the rain will fall on it. 
When thoroughly soaked, let dry in a hot sun for 6 or 7 succes¬ 
sive days, shaking up well and turning over each day. The tick 
should be taken in at night or securely covered from the night 
air. This way of washing the bed-ticking and feathers makes 
them very fresh and light, and is much easier than the old fash¬ 
ioned way of emptying the beds and washing the feathers sepa¬ 
rately, while it answers quite as well. Care must be taken to 
dry the bed perfectly before sleeping on it. 

To Clean Bed-Ticks. —Apply Poland starch, by rubbing 
it on thick with a wet cloth. Place it in the sun. When dry, 
rub it if necessary. The soiled part will be clean as new. 

CARE OF FURS AND WOOLENS. 

To Preserve from Moth. —The moth makes its advent in 
the spring and early summer in the form of a little slim, white 
fly. If furs and woolens are protected from moth before they 


WASHING, REPAIRING AND RENOVATING. 381 

deposit their eggs or larvae, they are harmless. Beat furs thor¬ 
oughly with a thin rattan; carefully comb them with a clean 
comb, and wrap them securely in paper. Serve feathers and 
woolens the same way, omitting the combing. If the paper 
coverings are sealed or pasted so that the moth cannot get inside, 
they are as secure from the pests as if enclosed in stone vaults ; 
but no openings should be left, however small. Goods may be 
made equally secure in muslin sacks or pillow cases. Camphor 
and other preparations are used as a preventive of moth, but 
there is no preventive so certain as the physical barrier : keep 
the moth away from your goods and he is harmless. It is well 
to examine the goods once a month during the summer, lest the 
sly moth may have got in his work before they were put away. 

To Clean Dark Furs. —Sable, Chinchilla, Squirrel, Fitch, 
etc., should be treated as follows: Warm a quantity of new 
bran in a pan, stirring so that it does not burn. When well 
warmed rub it thoroughly into the fur with the hand; shake 
the fur out, repeat several times, and brush sharply until free 
from dust. 

To Clean Light Furs. —For ermine and other light colored 
furs : Moisten some bran with warm water, lay the fur on a 
table, and rub it well with the bran ; rub until quite dry, and 
afterwards with dry bran. The wet bran should be put on with 
flannel, and the dry with a piece of book muslin. Rub well also 
with magnesia or a piece of book muslin, after the bran process. 
Dry flour may be used instead of the wet bran. The furs should 
be rubbed against the way of the fur. Ermine takes longer than 
miniver to clean. 

Furs, to Improve by Stretching.— Furs may be improved 
by stretching. Wet the flesh side with a solution of 3 ounces 
salt in a pint of soft water until the skin is thoroughly saturated, 
using care not to wet the fur; stretch the furs on a board, fur 
side down, as much as they will bear, and to the required shape, 
and secure with tacks ; let them dry thoroughly, brush and buff 
them. 

CARE OF CARPETS. 

To Wash Carpets. —Shake and beat well; lay upon the 
floor and tack firmly ; then with a clean flannel wash over with 
a quart of bullock’s gall mixed with 3 quarts of soft cold water. 


382 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

and mb it off with a clean flannel or house cloth. Any partic¬ 
ularly dirty spot should be rubbed with pure gall. 

To Clean Carpets. —Before proceeding to sweep a carpet 
a few handfuls of waste tea leaves should be sprinkled over it. 
A stiff hair broom or brush should be employed, unless the carpet 
is very dirty, when a whisk or carpet broom should be used first, 
followed by another made of hair, to take off the loose dust. 
The frequent use of a stiff carpet broom soon wears off the beauty 
of the best carpet. An ordinary clothes brush is best adapted 
for superior carpets. When carpets are very dirty they should 
be cleaned by shaking and beating. 

Beat well with a stick in the usual manner until all the dust 
is removed, then take out the stains, if any, with lemon or sorrel 
juice. When thoroughly dry rub it all over with the crumb of 
a hot wheaten loaf, and if the weather is very fine, let hang out 
in the open air for a night or two. This treatment will revive 
the colors, and make the carpet appear equal to new. 

Beat a Carpet on the wrong side first; and then more gently 
on the right side. Beware of using sticks with sharp points, 
which may tear the carpet. 

Another Method. —Take a pail of cold water and add a 
gill of ox gall; rub into the carpet with a soft brush. It will 
raise a lather, which must be washed off with clear cold water. 
Bub dry with a clean cloth. In nailing down a carpet after the 
floor has been washed, be certain that the floor is quite dry, or 
the nails will rust and injure the carpet. Fuller’s earth is used 
for cleaning carpets, and weak solutions of alum or soda are used 
for reviving the colors. The crumb of a hot wheaten loaf rub¬ 
bed over a carpet has been found effective. 

Spots on Carpets. —A few drops of Carbonate of Ammonia, 
and a small quantity of warm rain water, will prove a safe and 
easy antacid, etc., and will change, if carefully applied, discol¬ 
ored spots upon carpets, and indeed, all spots, whether produced 
by acids or alkalies. If one has the misfortune to have a carpet 
injured by whitewash, this will immediately restore it. 

To Remove Ink Spots from Carpets.— As soon as the 
ink has been spilled, take up as much as you can with a sponge, 
and then pour on cold water repeatedly, still taking up the 
liquid ; next rub the place with a little wet Oxalic Acid and wash 


WASHING, REPAIRING AND RENOVATING. 383 

it off immediately with cold water, and then rub on some harts¬ 
horn. 

Sweeping Carpets. —Persons who are accustomed to use 
tea leaves for sweeping their carpets, and find that they leave 
stains, will do well to employ fresh cut grass instead. It is bet¬ 
ter than tea leaves for preventing dust, and gives the carpets a 
very bright, fresh look. 

A Stair Carpet should never be swept down with a long 
broom, but always with a short-handled brush, and a dust pan 
held closely under each step of the stairs. 

A Half-worn Carpet may he made to last longer by ripping 
it apart, and transposing the breadths. 

To Remove Grease Spots from Carpets. —If oil is 
spilled on a carpet, and you immediately scatter corn meal over 
it, the oil will be absorbed by the meal. Oil may also be removed 
from carpets upon which you do not dare to put Ether or 
Ammonia, by laying thick blotting paper over and pressing a 
hot flatiron on it. Repeat the operation several times, using a 
clean paper each time. 

To Clean Straw Matting. —Boil 3 quarts of bran in 1 
gallon of water and wash the matting with the water, drying it 
well. 

Straw Matting may be cleaned with a large coarse cloth 
dipped in salt and water, and then wiped dry ; the salt prevents 
the matting from turning yellow. 

Oil-Cloth should never be scrubbed with a brush, but, after 
being first swept, it should be cleansed by washing with a large 
soft cloth and lukewarm or cold water. On no account use soap 
or hot water, as either will bring off the paint. 









384 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


CARE OF FURNITURE. 

Under this head are included ordinary articles of Furniture, 
together with Plate and Lamps. Cements for mending furni¬ 
ture will be found under the head of “ Cements,” in “ Miscel¬ 
laneous Domestic Recipes,” following. 

ROOM FURNITURE. 

To Restore Furniture.— An experienced cabinet-maker 
says that the best preparation for cleaning picture frames and 
restoring furniture, especially that somewhat marred or scratched, 
is a mixture of 3 parts of Linseed Oil and 1 part Spirits of Tur¬ 
pentine. It not only covers the disfigured places, but restores 
wood to its original color, and leaves a lustre upon the surface. 
Put on with a woolen cloth, and when dry, rub with woolen. 

Mahogany Furniture. —A solution of Bichromate of Pot¬ 
ash is often used for darkening mahogany furniture. For pol¬ 
ishing mahogany, walnut, etc., dissolve Beeswax by heat in 
Spirits of Turpentine until the mixture becomes viscid; then 
apply by a clean woolen cloth, and wipe thoroughly with a dry 
flannel. 

To Clean Mirrors and Windows. —Take part of a 
newspaper (or tissue paper is better), fold it small, dip it in a 
basin of clean cold water, to which a tablespoonful of Aqua 
Ammonia has been added, and when it is thoroughly wet squeeze 
it out like a sponge, and then rub it hard over the face of the 
glass, taking care that it is not so wet that the liquid will run 
down in streamlets. After the glass has been well rubbed with 
the wet paper, let it rest a few minutes and then go over it with 
a fresh dry paper, till it looks clear and bright, which it will do 
almost immediately. The inside of windows may be cleaned in 
this way, and they will look beautifully clear. 

To Keep Flies from Picture Frames.— Boil 3 or 4 
onions in 1 pint of water; then with a gilding brush do over 
your glasses and frames, and the flies will not alight on the arti¬ 
cle so washed. This may be used without apprehension, as it 
will not do the least injury to the frames. 


CARE OF FURNITURE. 


385 


To Remove Oil from Wood and Marble.— Make a 
strong lye of pearlash and soft water, and add as much 
unslacked lime as it will take up ; stir together, and then let 
it settle a few minutes; bottle it and stop close; have ready 
some water to dilute it when used, and scour the part with it. 
If the liquor should lie long on the boards, it will draw the color 
out of them; therefore do it with care and expedition. When 
used for marble, the surface may be improved by rubbing or 
polishing afterward with fine putty-powder and Sweet Oil. 

Furniture Wax Varnish —Wax 3 ounces, Oil of Turpen¬ 
tine, 1 quart; dissolve by a gentle heat. 

CARE OF PLATE AND TABLE WARE. 

To Keep Knives and Forks in Good Condition.— 

Wipe the knives and forks as soon as possible after being used, 
as the longer they are left with grease and stains on, the 
harder they will be to clean ; particularly if they have been 
used for acids, salads, tarts, etc.; have then a pitcher of hot 
water ready to put them into as soon as done with, and wipe 
as before directed. 

In order to keep knives and forks in good condition when 
they are not in use, rub the steel part with a flannel dipped in 
oil; wipe the oil off after a few hours, as there is often water in 
it; or dust the blades and prongs with quick-lime, finely pow¬ 
dered and kept in a muslin bag. 

Stains on Silver. —A certain method for removing the most 
inveterate stains that are sometimes to be seen on teaspoons and 
other silver ware, is to pour a little Sulphuric Acid into a 
saucer, wet with it a soft linen cloth, and rub it on the black¬ 
ened silver till the stain disappears. Then coat the articles with 
Whiting finely powdered and sifted, and mixed with Alcohol. 
When the Whiting has dried on, and rested i hour or more, 
wipe it with a silk handkerchief, and polish with a chamois 
skin. 

Silver Plate, to Clean. —Fill a large saucepan with water; 
put into it 1 ounce Carbonate of Potash and i pound Whiting. 
Put in all the spoons, forks, and small plate, and boil them 
for 20 minutes; after which take the saucepan off the fire and 
allow the liquor to become cold ; then take each piece out and 


386 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

polish with soft leather. A soft brush must be used to clean 
the embossed and engraved parts. 

Dry Cleaning for Silver.— Whiting finely powdered and 
moistened with a little Sweet Oil is excellent to clean silver. 
Let the mixture dry on, then rub it off with a soft linen cloth 
and polish with chamois leather. This gives silver a beautiful 
white appearance, and if well done the silver will keep clean a 
long time. 

To Remove Ink Stains from Silver. —The tops and 

other portions of silver inkstands frequently become deeply dis¬ 
colored with ink, which is difficult to remove by ordinary means. 
It may, however, be completely eradicated by making a little 
Chloride of Lime into a paste with water, and rubbing it upon 
the stains. 

To Clean Silver. —To clean silver, mix 2 teaspoonfuls of 
Aqua Ammonia in a quart of hot soapsuds. Put in the silver 
ware and wash it, using an old nail-brush or tooth-brush for the 
purpose. 

To Remove Egg Stains. —To remove the stains on 

spoons, caused by using them for boiled eggs, take a little 
common salt moist between the thumb and finger, and briskly 
rub the stain, which will soon disappear. Then wash. 

Silver Plate Lustre. —Mix equal parts of Cream of 
Tartar, common salt, and Alum. A little of this powder, added 
to the water in which silver plate is boiled, gives to it a silvery 
whiteness or lustre. 

To Clean Plated Ware. —Make a paste with Whiting 
and Alcohol, apply to the plated articles, and when dry, rub it 
off with a brush (if rough), or a soft cloth, if smooth. 

To Preserve the Polish on Silver. —Wash it twice a 
week (if in daily use) with Aqua Ammonia and hot water, and 
polish with Canton flannel. 

To Clean Silver Ornaments.— Boil in soft soap and 
water for 5 minutes; then put in a basin with the same hot * 
soap and water, and scruo them gently with a very soft 
brush while hot; then rinse and dry with a linen cloth. Heat 
a piece of common unglazed earthenware, or a piece of brick or 
tile in the fire; take it off, and place the ornaments upon it for 


i 


CARE OF FURNITURE. 


387 


the purpose of drying them, and causing every particle of moist¬ 
ure to evaporate; as the moisture, which otherwise would 
remain on the silver, will cause it to tarnish, or assume a green¬ 
ish hue. 

MANAGEMENT OF KEROSENE LAMPS. 

The best effects from kerosene are rarely attained through 
want of attention to its management. The wick, oil, lamp, and 
all its appurtenances, must be perfectly clean. The chimney 
must be not only clean, but clear and bright. The wick must 
be trimmed exactly square across the wick-tube, and not over 
the curved top of the cupola used to spread the flame; after 
trimming, raise the wick, and cut off the extreme corners or 
points. A wick cannot be trimmed well with dull scissors ; the 
sharper the scissors, the better the shape of the flame. The 
burners made with an immovable cupola, and straight, cylin¬ 
drical chimneys, require especial care in trimming; the wick 
has to be raised above the cupola, and has therefore no support 
when being trimmed. A kerosene lamp, with the wick turned 
down, so as to make a small flame, should not be placed in a 
sleeping room at night. A wick made of felt is greatly superior 
in every way to the common cotton wicks. 

Kerosene Lamps, to Prevent Grease.— The upper 
part of a kerosene oil lamp, after standing for a short time, fre¬ 
quently gets oily, from the condensation of the vapor of the oil. 
This will be greatly, if not entirely prevented, by taking a piece 
of felt and cutting a hole in it so as to fit exactly around the 
socket into which the burner is screwed ; trim the felt off so as 
to leave a rim about £ inch wide, and place this felt ring on the 
socket. 

To Clean Kerosene Lamps. —Wash the lamp inside 
and out thoroughly with hot soap and water, and a little wash¬ 
ing soda. When clean, rinse repeatedly so as to leave no trace 
of soap ; let it drain till dry. 

To Prevent Lamp Wicks from Smoking.— Soak 
the wick in strong vinegar, and dry it before using. 


388 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


DYEING AND COLORING. 

A few simple directions for dyeing and coloring will be found 
of value in many households. Dyeing is a chemical process, and 
the mode of its performance depends upon the substance ope¬ 
rated on. Thus it is found that the process by which wool is 
dyed black, would only impart a rusty brown to linen. Wool 
unites with almost all coloring matters with great facility, silk 
in the next degree, cotton less easily than silk, and linen with 
even more difficulty. Goods before being >dyed should be 
cleansed. Wool is cleaned or scoured by means of a weak alka¬ 
line lye, soap and water, or putrid urine; the latter being very 
generally used for this purpose. Silk is cleaned from the nat¬ 
ural varnish that covers it, by boiling with white soap and water. 
Cotton and linen are cleaned with alkaline lyes of more or less 
density. 

For most purposes in dyeing, the goods, after being cleansed, 
should be prepared by being treated to some substance which 
has a strong affinity for the stuff to be dyed on the one hand, 
and the coloring material on the other. The substances applied 
with this intention are called “ Mordants,” and generally exer¬ 
cise the double property of “ fixing” and “striking” the color. 
Thus, if cotton goods be dyed with a decoction of Madder, it 
will only receive a fugitive and dirty red tinge, but if it be first 
run through a solution of Acetate of Alumina, dried at a high 
temperature, washed, and then run through a Madder bath, it 
will come out a permanent and lively red. The principal Mor¬ 
dants are the Acetates of Iron and Alumina, Sulphate of Iron, 
Alum, and some other chemical salts. 

After having received the proper Mordants, the goods are 
dried and rinsed, after which they are passed for a shorter or 
longer time through an infusion, decoction, or solution of the 
dyeing materials, which constitute the “ dye-bath ; ” they are 
again dried and rinsed. In many cases, the immersion in the 
dye-bath is repeated, either with the same materials or with 
others to vary or modify the color. After the substances have 


DYEING AND COLORING. 


389 


been properly dyed, they are subjected to a thorough rinsing or 
washing in soft water, until the latter runs off uncolored. 

RULES FOR COLORING. 

In addition to the above general suggestions, the following 
directions should be observed : 

1. It is very important, especially where light and bright 
shades are required, to have a pure water-bath, free from all for¬ 
eign ingredients which may be injurious to the dye. 

2. Copper or iron vessels should not be used in dyeing, as it 
injures the color. For family dyeing, any earthen, wooden, new 
tin or enameled vessel, will do. 

3. Buy good materials, give special attention to Indigo, Prus¬ 
sian Blue, Chemic, Solution of Tin, Cochineal and Madder. 

4. Have each dye stuff labeled, and the ones for each dye tied 
in separate packages. 

5. Get everything in readiness before commencing, and select 
a time when you will not be likely to be interrupted. Hurry and 
confusion may spoil everything. 

6. To prevent spotting in most goods, wet them with warm 
water first before putting them into the dye. Always use soft 
water and enough of it to perfectly cover the goods. 

7. When a piece of cloth is dyed, it should first be aired, then 
rinsed, then dried. 

8. Silk or Merino should never be wrung or twisted, either in 
scouring or dyeing, as it will leave wrinkles. 

9. In making a dye with chips or barks, they should be tied 
in a bag large enough to hold them loosely. 

DYES IN COMMON USE. 

The methods of coloring with the common dyes are briefly 
given following: 

1. Black for Five Pounds of Goods. —Take Extract 
of Logwood 7 ounces. Copperas 5 ounces. Dissolve the Log¬ 
wood and Copperas in separate vessels, each in water sufficient 
to cover the goods ; bring both to a boil. Dip in the Copperas 
till thoroughly soaked; then dip in the Logwood £ hour ; then 
dip back and forth from Copperas to Logwood till the color is 
dark enough; then boil in Logwood i hour, drain out and wash 
in strong soapsuds. 


390 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

For woolen goods use 4 ounces of Bichromate of Potash in 
place of the Copperas. 

2. Dark Blue on Cotton or Wool. —(For 5 pounds goods.) 
Take Copperas 4 ounces, Prussiate of Potash 1£ ounces, Sulphu¬ 
ric Acid, by weight f ounce. Make a solution of Copperas in 
water sufficient to cover, and bring to a boil. Soak the goods 
thoroughly in this solution ; then dissolve the Prussiate of Pot¬ 
ash in another vessel of water, at a blood heat simply ; add the 
Sulphuric Acid, stir briskly a moment, and immediately change 
the goods from the Copperas to this solution. Dip back and 
forth till dark enough. 

3. Another for Blue. —(For 4 pounds goods). Take 1 
ounce Chinese Blue, best; £ ounce Oxalic Acid. Dissolve the 
Acid in a pint bottle half full of rain water; add the Blue; 
shake well and fill up the bottle. Take warm water enough to 
cover the goods, add to it from the bottle till the right shade is 
obtained. Soak the goods in it for £ hour. 

4. Sky Blue on Cotton or Silk. —(For 2 pounds goods.) 
Take Blue Vitriol 3 ounces. Lime Water enough to cover the 
goods. Soak the goods in a solution of the Vitriol for £ hour, 
then pass through the Lime Water. [For Lime Water see No. 9.] 

5. Brown on Cotton or Wool. —(For 5 pounds goods.) 
Take Catechu 1£ pounds, Bichromate of Potash 5 ounces. Dis¬ 
solve them separately in boiling water. Boil in Catechu £ hour, 
then dip in Potash ; dip back and forth to get the desired shade. 
If this does not make it dark enough, dissolve 2 ounces of Blue 
Vitriol in a little water, and add to the Potash solution, and dip 
the goods in that again. 

6. Yellow on Cotton and Wool. —(For 5 pounds goods.) 
Take Sugar of Lead 8 ounces, Bichromate of Potash 4 ounces. 
Dissolve in separate vessels; soak the cloth thoroughly in the 
Lead solution ; then dip in the Potash solution ; dip back and 
forth. 

7. Yellow on Wool with Fustic. —(For 5 pounds goods.) 
Take Fustic Chips 5 pounds, Alum 1 pound. Mix together and 
steep until the strength is out (from £ to 1 hour), then boil the 
goods in the liquid until the desired shade is obtained. 


DYEING AND COLORING. 


391 


8. Orange. —Color the goods yellow by Recipe No. 6, and as 
they come out of that dye (before they air any) dip in hot Lime 
Water. 

9. Lime Water. —Put 1 pound of unslacked Lime into a 
pail of water, stir until slacked, let settle and pour off. 

10. Orange on Silk. —(For 1 pound of goods.) Take 
Annatto and Soda each 1 ounce. Dissolve together and dip 
the goods. If not dark enough, take more of the ingredients. 

11. Green. —First dye yellow by Recipe No. 6, allow the 
goods to get nearly or quite dry, and then put through a blue dye, 
either No. 2 or No. 3. 

If you wish to color Green, Blue, and Yellow, tie the goods 
for the yellow and green in separate loose bunches, and dye them 
both yellow at the same time, then take those for green and 
those for blue and put them through the blue at the same time ; 
those which were colored yellow will come out green, the others 
simply blue. By this course time is saved, and the dyes are 
made to go farther. Also, if you want Orange, have the lime 
water ready and dip the yellow into it, while you are waiting for 
the yellow which is to be made green to dry, before putting it 
through the blue. 

12. Red on Cotton. —(For 5 pounds of goods.) Take Muri¬ 
ate of Tin 3 ounces, Nicwood 1 pound. Add the Tin to water 
enough to cover the goods; put in the goods and stir well for 1 
hour. In the meantime put the Nicwood in a clean kettle with 
sufficient water, keep it for £ hour as hot as the hand can bear ; 
then put in the goods and heat them for an hour without boil¬ 
ing ; stir them and then dip for another hour; then wash with¬ 
out soap. 

13. Wine Color on Wool. —(For 5 pounds cloth.) Take 
Camwood 2 pounds. Blue Vitriol 11 ounces. Boil the wood in 
water enough to cover the goods, for 15 minutes, then dip the 
goods for | hour; boil again and dip another 1 hour. Then dis¬ 
solve the Vitriol in another vessel and dip the goods in it. If 
not dark enough, add £ ounce more of Vitriol. 

14. Scarlet on Wool, —(For 2 pounds of goods.) Take 
Cream of Tartar 2£ ounces. Cochineal 21 ounces. Solution of 
Tin 5 ounces. Mix all together and boil, then put in the goods 


392 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

and stir briskly for 10 or 15 minutes; then boil for 1| hours, 
stirring slowly. Wash in clear water and dry in the shade. 

15. Pink on Wool. —(For 5 pounds.) Take Alum 5 
ounces, Cream of Tartar 7 ounces, Cochineal (powdered) If 
ounces. Dissolve the Alum and boil the goods in the solution 1 
hour. Take out the goods, add to the dye the Cream of Tartar 
and Cochineal; boil well and dip the goods while boiling until 
the color suits. 

16. Crimson on Silk. —(For 1 pound of goods.) Take 
Alum 3 ounces, Cochineal 3 ounces, Nut [Gall 2 ounces. Cream 
of Tartar f ounce. Make a solution of the Alum and dip the 
goods in it. Make a dye of the materials by boiling together in 
a bucketful of water; allow to cool; when almost cold, begin 
to dip the goods, at the same time raising the temperature grad¬ 
ually to the boiling point. Dip 1 hour, then rinse and dry. 

ANILINE DYES. 

The manufacture of Aniline dyes from a preparation of Coal 
Tar very greatly simplifies the process of coloring. They are 
sold ready prepared by druggists and others, and full directions 
for their use accompany the packages. 

Proportion of Aniline Dyes to Use. —The follow¬ 
ing proportions of the Aniline dyes are calculated to give a 
medium shade to the goods according to quantity as indicated: 

Aniline Red— One ounce dyes 19 pounds wool, or 12^ pounds 
of cotton, or 9£ pounds of silk. 

Crimson —Same proportion as Aniline red. 

Blue or Violet —One ounce dyes 15£ pounds of wool, or 9| 
pounds of cotton, or 7i pounds of silk. 

Brown or Yellow— One ounce dyes 11£ pounds of wool, or 
7£ pounds of silk. 

Green, Oxidized Powder —One ounce dyes 3f pounds of 
silk (night green). 

Green, Iodine Paste —One ounce dyes f pound silk (atlas 
night green). 

Picric Acid —One ounce dyes 16 pounds of wool or silk, yel¬ 
low ; 17^ to 18 pounds of wool, green, according to shade. 

Starch, Gum Arabic, Sulphuric Acid, etc., are used in various 
combinations in the Aniline dyes. The cheap Sulphuric Acid 
of commerce is sufficient, and the dearer Mordants, such as 
Oxalic Acid and Chloride of Tin, are unnecessary. 


MISCELLANEOUS DOMESTIC RECIPES. 


393 


MISCELLANEOUS DOMESTIC RECIPES. 

The division of this work devoted to Domestic Economy and 
the Household must of necessity find a limit, although th^ 
subject might almost demand volumes where only pages can be 
devoted to it. But it is believed that within the space compre¬ 
hended, no work extant furnishes as complete a digest of house¬ 
hold economy as is here presented. Among many subjects not 
of sufficient extent to call for a separate title, the following are 
grouped under the head foregoing : 

METHODS OF MAKING YEAST. 

Hop-Yeast. —Take a large handful of fresh hops tied m 8 
cloth; steep slowly in about a pint of water in a porcelain or 
bright tin kettle ; boil 6 large potatoes, sliced thin, in 2 quarts 
of water in porcelain; when quite soft, mash till smooth and 
creamy. Have ready 1 pint of flour, wet and formed into a 
smooth paste ; pour into this the potato water boiling hot, stir¬ 
ring smoothly; let it boil a few minutes, stirring constantly 
add the hop water and potatoes, 2 tablespoonfuls of salt and 1 
cup white sugar ; stir thoroughly and set away to cool. When: 
milk-warm to the touch stir in 1 cup of dry yeast, let it rise in 
a warm place 12 hours ; place it in an air-tight vessel, previously 
well scalded, and set in the cellar. This will keep a month or 
more. Always make new yeast before the old is gone, adding 
the old, a plan which improves the quality. Clean the vessel 
in which it is to be held with hot saleratus water. It is highly 
important to keep the vessel sweet and clean. 

Yeast Proof against Souring. —For 3 quarts yeast take 
2 large handfuls hops, 1 teacupful flour, £ teacupful salt, £ tea¬ 
cupful white sugar, 2 large tablespoonfuls ginger; mix these 
while the hops are boiling with a little cold water, strain the hop 
water, wash out the kettle, pour all in the kettle again, stirring 
all the time, to keep from burning ; it will be thick and smooth. 
Boil thoroughly; have the yeast jar perfectly clean. Pour in 
the cooked batter and set away to cool; when cool enough not 

25 



394 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

to scald the yeast, put in a teacupful of yeast. When light, tie 
up tightly and set upon the cellar floor. 

Dry Yeast. —Tie in a cloth a large handful of hops and 
place in a crock or stew-pan ; pour 3 pints of boiling water over 
them and steep 15 minutes; remove from the fire and squeeze 
the water from the hops and lay them aside; place into the hot 
water 1 quart flour, 1 tablespoonful ginger and 3 of sugar. The 
water should be hot enough to thoroughly scald the flour ; when 
cool add 2 cakes dry yeast; then stir the mixture frequently ; stir 
down again when it rises ; let it stand over night and the next 
morning stir as before. When it is in a light foam stir thick 
with corn meal; make into cakes and dry in the shade. 

CEMENTS FOR DOMESTIC USE. 

Cement for Mending Crockery, —One of the strongest 
cements and easiest applied for this purpose is lime and the white 
of an egg. To use it, take a sufficient quantity of the egg to 
mend one article at a time, shave off a quantity of lime, and 
mix thoroughly. Apply quickly to the edges and place firmly 
together, when it will very soon become set and strong. Mix 
but a small quantity at once, as it hardens very soon, so that it 
cannot be used. Calcined Plaster of Paris would answer the 
same purpose as the lime. 

For Fastening Handles. —The best cement for this pur¬ 
pose consists of 1 pound resin and 8 ounces sulphur, melted 
together and either kept in bars or reduced to powder. One part 
of the powder is to be mixed with 4 part of iron filings, fine sand, 
or brick-dust, and the cavity of the handle is then to be filled 
with this mixture. The stem of the knife or fork is then to be 
heated and inserted into the cavity; and when cold it will be 
found firmly fixed in its place. 

For Sealing Corks. —Take an equal quantity of resin and 
beeswax, melt them together, then put in an almost equal bulk 
of finely-powdered red chalk, add a small quantity of neatsfoot 
oil, let the whole boil 1 minute, then take it from the fire and 
stir it well; if too thick, add a little more oil. 

Bottle Cement.— Melt together i pound sealing wax, the 
same quantity of resin, and 2 ounces beeswax. When it froths 
stir it with a tallow candle. As soon as it melts dip the mouths 
of the corked bottles in it. 


MISCELLANEOUS DOMESTIC RECIPES. 395 

Glycerine Cement. — A durable cement for iron upon iron, 
for two stone surfaces, and for fastening iron in stone, is made 
of glycerine and litharge, stirred to a paste. It hardens rapidly, 
is insoluble, and is not attacked by strong acids. 

For Mending Stone, Etc. —Mix in fine dry powder 20 
parts of well washed and sifted sand, 2 of litharge, and 1 of 
freshly burned and slacked quick-lime. This is suitable for fill¬ 
ing up cracks, etc. It sets in a few hours, and has the appear¬ 
ance of light stone. 

Red Cement. —The red cement used for uniting glass to 
metals, is made by melting 5 parts black resin and 1 part of yel¬ 
low wax ; when entirely melted, stir in gradually 1 part of red 
ochre, or Venetian red in fine powder, and previously well dried. 
This cement should be melted before it is used, and it adheres 
better if the surfaces to which it is applied are warmed. 

For General Use. —Dissolve Gum Arabic, | ounce, in 
water, a wine glassful, by putting it, boiling hot, upon the 
bruised gum ; when fully dissolved, stir in very finely powdered 
Plaster Paris to make a thick paste. Apply with a brush to the 
edges of the articles to be mended, and press them firmly toge¬ 
ther until it sets a little, and keep them in position until di*y. 
This will be as good for toilet articles as for any kind of table 
dishes. The cement being white, of itself, it will scarcely d>e 
noticed ; but any mended dishes should not be put in hot water 
for any considerable time. 

Liquid Glue. —Take of best white glue, 16 ounces; white 
lead, dry, 4 ounces; rain water, 2 pints; Alcohol, 4 ounces. 
With constant stirring dissolve the glue and lead in the water by 
means of a water-bath. Add the Alcohol and continue the heat 
for a few minutes. Lastly pour into bottles while it is still hot. 

Glycerine Paste. —Glycerine paste for office use may be 
prepared by dissolving 1 ounce Gum Arabic and 2 drachms of 
Glycerine in 3 ounces boiling water. 

Government Stamp Mucilage. —The substance used for 
gumming stamps is made as follows: Gum Dextrine, 2 parts; 
Acetic Acid, 1 part; water, 5 parts. Dissolve in a water-bath, 
and add Alcohol, 1 part. 

Mucilage for Glass.— Macerate 5 parts good glue in 18 to 
•20 parts water for a day, and to the liquid add 9 parts rock candy 


396 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

and 3 parts Gum Arabic. The mixture can be brushed upon 
paper while lukewarm ; it keeps well, does not stick together,, 
and, when moistened, adheres firmly to bottles. One or two* 
drops of Glycerine in a small bottle of mucilage will entirely 
prevent drying and scaling off of the label. Too much Glycer¬ 
ine must not be added, or the cement will fail to harden at all. 

Good Mucilage. —For household purposes this maybe made* 
by mixing 3 ounces Gum Arabic, 3 ounces distilled vinegar, with 
1 ounce white sugar. Instead of the distilled vinegar, 1 part 
Acetic Acid and 5 parts water may be substituted. 

Flour Paste. —A tablespoonful of flour moderately heaped! 
will make a half pint of stiff paste. First mix it with 2 table- 
spoonfuls of warm water, but not scalding, and mix, rubbing: 
out all lumps; add an even teaspoonful of powdered alum ; add 
a little more warm water to make it the thickness of medium 
thin batter; then pour boiling water slowly from the teakettle r 
stirring the paste gently, and as it thickens and changes color it 
will be done. If kept closely covered it will keep for a long time. 
For keeping, it is well to make it quite stiff, and when using, it 
may be softened with water. 

Paste That will Keep a Year. —Make in the ordinary 
way a good flour or starch paste. Add a small quantity of brown 
sugar, then about a teaspoonful of Corrosive Sublimate in fine 
powder to a pint of paste; add also a teaspoonful of Oil of 
Cloves, or Rosemary, or Lavender, or any of the essential oils,, 
and a few drops of Carbolic Acid. Stir well with a wooden spat¬ 
ula. Paste made in this way will keep for any length of time. 
As the Corrosive Sublimate is a poisonous agent, the paste must 
be kept out of the reach of children. Used as a paste it is harm¬ 
less. 

For Scrap Books. —Take the best laundry starch and wet 
with sufficient cold, soft water to stir it smoothly. Pour on boil¬ 
ing water until it is clear and jelly-like. It is ready for use as 
soon as cool. 

TO DESTROY YERMIN. 

A Novel Bat Trap. —Cover a common barrel with stiff, 
stout paper, tying the edge round the barrel; place a board so- 
that the rats may have easy access to the top ; sprinkle cheese 
parings or other feed for the rats on the paper for several days* 


MISCELLANEOUS DOMESTIC RECIPES. 


397 


until they begin to think that they have a right to their daily 
rations from this source ; then place in the bottom of the barrel 
a piece of rock about 6 or 7 inches high, filling with water until 
only enough of it projects above the water for one rat to lodge 
upon. Now replace the paper, first cutting across in the mid¬ 
dle, and the first rat that comes on the barrel top goes through 
into the water, and climbs on the rock. The paper comes back 
to its original position, and the second rat follows the first. Then 
begins a fight for the possession of the dry place on the stone, 
the noise of which attracts the others, who share the same fate. 

Bait to Catch Rats and Mice.— A drop of Oil of Rho¬ 
dium poured upon some bait in a rat trap will attract the vermin 
to it. Rats and mice possess a great liking for the oil, and will 
risk anything to obtain it. 

Rat Poison. —Recent experiments have shown that Squills 
is an excellent poison for rats. The powder should be mixed 
with some fatty substance, and spread upon slices of bread. 
The pulp of onions is also good. Rats are very fond of either. 

To Drive Rats from a Building. —Cover the floor near 
their holes with a thin layer of moist Caustic Potash. When 
the rats walk on this it makes their feet sore. These they lick 
with their tongues, which makes their mouths sore, and the 
result is, they not only shun this locality, but it seems to prevent 
others coming, so that the house and neighborhood are entirely 
abandoned by them. 

Gum Camphor placed about the haunts of rats and mice is 
said to keep them away. 

Another Way. —Catch a rat and put a bell on him and let 
him go. The other rats will run for dear life. 

Rat Exterminator. —Warm water, 1 quart; lard, 2 
pounds ; Phosphorus, 1 ounce; mix and thicken with flour; to 
be spread on bread and covered with sugar. 

To Prevent Rats Dying in Their Holes.— Poison them 
by mixing £ pound of Carbonate of Barytes with £ pound of lard. 
It produces great thirst, the rats leave their holes to drink, and 
are unable to return. 

To Drive Away Cockroaches. —No other poison will de¬ 
stroy cockroaches as soon as Poke Root sliced thin and laid about 
u house. Instead of using it this way, the root may be boiled until 


398 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

the strength is extracted, 1 ounce should be used to 1 pint of water. 
If mixed with molasses and spread on plates in places infested: 
by insects, it will destroy them without fail. 

To Destroy Cockroaches. —Borax is one of the best roach 
exterminators. There is something peculiar, either in the smell 
or touch of borax, which is certain death to them. They will 
flee in terror from it, and never appear again where it has once 
been placed. It has also the great advantage of being perfectly 
harmless to human beings; hence there is no danger from pois¬ 
oning. The borax should be pulverized and sprinkled around 
the infested places. 

To Kill Bed Bugs. —Mix carbolic acid 1 part, with water % 
parts. Apply with a brush or sponge swab, or use a small syringe 
or spring-bottom oiler, to inject the fluid into the cracks and 
crevices. Be careful not to get the fluid on the hands, or on 
woolen clothing or leather. Sulphate of zinc, a teaspoonful to 
a tumbler of water, has been used, and is worthy of a trial. A 
solution of corrosive sublimate in alcohol is death on bed bugs; 
when it touches them. 

To Destroy Flies. —Beat up the yolk of an egg with a table- 
spoonful each of molasses and black pepper finely ground; set it 
about in shallow plates and the flies will be rapidly killed. A. 
sweetened infusion of quassia will answer the same purpose. 
Dissolve 1 drachm extract of quassia in a gill of water, mix with 
| gill molasses and pour the mixture on a flat dish where the* 
flies have access. The quassia acts on them like a narcotic. 

To Banish. Flies and Insects. —Scatter chloride of lime on 
a board in the stable, to remove all kinds of flies, but more 
especially biting flies. Sprinkling beds of vegetables with even 
a weak solution, effectually preserves them from caterpillars, 
slugs, etc. A paste of 1 part powdered chloride of lime and £ 
part of some fatty matter placed in a narrow band around the 
trunk of a tree, prevents insects from creeping up it. Even rats, 
mice, cockroaches and crickets flee from it. 

To Drive Flies from Horses. —Procure a bunch of smart- 
weed, and bruise it to cause the juice to exude. Bub the animal 
thoroughly with the bunch of bruised weed, especially on the- 
legs, neck, and ears. Neither flies or other insects will trouble 
him for 24 hours. The process should be repeated every day.. 


MISCELLANEOUS DOMESTIC RECIPES. 


399 


A very convenient way of using it, is to make a strong infusion 
by boiling the weed a few minutes in water. When cold it can 
be conveniently applied with a sponge or brush. 

Sticky Fly Paper. —Coat paper with turpentine varnish, 
and oil it to keep the varnish from drying. 

To Drive away Black Ants. —A few leaves of green 
wormwood, scattered among the haunts of these troublesome in¬ 
sects, is said to be effectual in dislodging them. 

To Destroy Bed Ants. —Crease a plate with lard, and set 
it where these insects abound. They prefer lard to anything 
else, and will forsake sugar for it. Place a few sticks around 
the plate for the ants to climb up on. Occasionally turn the 
plate bottom up over the fire, and the ants will fall in with the 
melting lard. Reset the plate, and in a short time you will catch 
them all. Powdered borax sprinkled around the infested places 
will exterminate both red and black ants. 

To Exterminate Fleas and Lice. —The oil of penny¬ 
royal will certainly drive them off; but a cheaper method, where 
the herb flourishes, is to dip dogk and cats into a decoction of it 
once a week. Mow the herb and scatter it in the beds of the 
pigs once a month. Where the herb cannot be got, the oil may 
be procured. In this case, saturate strings with it and tie them 
around the necks of dogs and cats, pour a little on the back and 
about the ears of hogs, which you can do while they are feeding, 
without touching them. By repeating these applications every 
12 or 15 days, the fleas will leave the animals. Strings saturated 
with the oil of pennyroyal, and tied around the necks and tails 
of horses, will drive off lice; the string should be saturated once 
a day. A decoction of chamomile flowers may be used with a 
like effect. 

Flea Trap. —Introduce, before getting into bed, a piece of 
new flannel between the sheets ; the fleas will forsake the sheets 
for the flannel. 

To Destroy Body Vermin. —Apply Stavesacre ointment 
or red precipitate. 

To Destroy Lice on Poultry. —If infested with lice, damp 
the skin under the feathers with water, then sprinkle a little 
sulphur on the skin. If the bird be covered with insects or par¬ 
asites, they will all disappear in the course of 12 hours. 


400 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

To Kill Bee Moths. —After dark set a pan of grease, in 
which is a floating lighted taper, near the hives. The moths, 
attracted by the light, fly into it, and fall into the grease. 

To Destroy Insects. —Cover the inside of an old tub 
with liquid tar, put a lighted lantern in it at twilight, and leave 
it there over night. The bugs in trying to reach the lantern are 
caught and held by the tar. 

Carbolic Acid as an Insect Distroyer. —A mixture 

of 10 parts carbolic acid, 5 parts soap, and 85 parts water, has 
been very successfully used to destroy the parasites which infest 
dogs. It has also been used with good results in veterinary 
practice, as an application in certain diseases of the skin. 

To Destroy Bugs. —As an insect destroyer, the juice of 
the tomato plant is said to be of great value; the leaves and 
stems are boiled in water, and when the liquid is cold, it is 
sprinkled over plants attacked with insects, when it at once 
destroys caterpillars, black and green flies, gnats and other 
enemies to vegetables, and in no way impairs the growth of the 
plants. A peculiar odor remains and prevents insects from com¬ 
ing again for a long time. 

To Destroy Vermin and Noxious Animals. —The 

bisulphide of carbon seems to be useful in certain cases, when it 
may be applied without inconvenience to the human species. In 
an atmosphere containing io of its volume, it has, according to 
Cloez, a very rapid action on the animal organism, more rapidly, 
apparently, upon rats, rabbits, etc., than upon birds and frogs. 
Cloez introduced If ounces bisulphide in a culvert, and found 
within 20 yards from the place some 40 dead rats. 

VARIOUS USEFUL RECIPES. 

To Clean Wood Work. —Put a tablespoonful of aqua 
ammonia in a quart of moderately hot water, dip in a flannel 
cloth, and with this merely wipe over the wood work; no scrub¬ 
bing will be necessary. 

To Clean Varnished Paint. —Boil a pound of bran in 1 
gallon of water an hour, and wash the paint with the bran water. 

To Extract Ink from Wood. —Scour with sand wet with 
water and ammonia. Then rinse with strong [saleratus water. 


MISCELLANEOUS DOMESTIC RECIPES. 401 

To Clean Door Plates.— Use a wet solution of ammonia in 
water applied with, a wet cloth. 

Wax for Polishing Floors. —To prepare this, 121 pounds 
yellow wax, rasped, are stirred into a hot solution of 6 pounds 
good pearlash in rain water. Keeping the mixture well stirred 
while boiling, it is first quiet, but soon commences to froth ; and 
when the effervescence ceases, heat is stopped, and there are 
added to the mixture, while still stirring, 6 pounds dry yellow 
ochre. It may then be poured into tin cans or boxes, and hard¬ 
ens on cooling. When wanted for use, a pound of it is diffused 
in 5 pints boiling water, and the mixture well stirred, applied 
while still hot to the floor by means of a paint brush. It dries 
in a few hours, after which the floor is to be polished with a 
large floor brush and afterwards wiped with a coarse woolen 
cloth. A coat of this paint will last six months. 

Varnish for Engravings, Maps, Etc. —Digest gum san- 
darach 20 parts, gum mastic eight parts, camphor 1 part, with 
alcohol 48 parts. The map or engraving must previously receive 
one or two coats of gelatine. 

Varnish for Hot-Bed Frames. —Mix 4 ounces of pulver¬ 
ized white cheese, 2 ounces of slacked lime, and 4 ounces of 
boiled linseed oil. Mix, and add 4 ounces each of whites and 
yolks of eggs, and liquefy the mixture by heat. This curious 
mixture is said to produce a pliable and transparent varnish. 

Varnish for Straw Hats. —Take either red or black 
sealing wax; to every 2 ounces of sealing wax add 1 ounce 
.alcohol; pound the wax fine, then sift it through a fine lawn 
sieve, till you have made it extremely fine; put it into a large 
vial with the alcohol; shake it; let it stand near the fire 48 
hours, shaking it often; then with a brush lay it all over the 
hat or basket. Let it dry and then repeat the operation. 

Varnish for Stoves. —Melt £ pound of asphaltum, and 
add to it i pint of linseed oil, and 1 pint of turpentine. If it 
be found too thick as it gets towards the bottom of the bottle, 
add a little more turpentine. The stoves must be washed clean 
of dirt and black lead, and, when dry, apply the varnish with a 
brush. 

To Clean Out a Stove Pipe. —Place a piece of zinc on 
the live coals in the stove. The vapor produced by the zinc will 


402 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

carry off the soot by chemical decomposition. Persons who tried 
the process claim it works every time. 

Fire Screens. —A simple arrangement consists in hanging 
from a pole, fitted under the mantle by means of rings, a cur¬ 
tain of plush, velvet or prettily decorated cloth to fall in front 
of the fireplace. In many country houses the grate is filled with 
odorous evergreens or a vase of flowers before it. 

A Neat Window Curtain. —Pretty curtains for sitting 
room windows can be made of soft gray momie cloth. Put them 
up with a cornice in the usual way ; then where they part, fit in 
a piece of momie cloth, on which a pretty group of flowers is. 
embroidered in Kensington stitch; the edge may be trimmed 
with fringe, or with lace crocheted of linen thread. 

Gathering and Preserving Herbs.— All kinds of herbs 
should be gathered on a dry day, just before, or while in blos¬ 
som. Tie them in bundles, and suspend them in a dry, airy 
place, with the blossoms downwards. When perfectly dry, wrap 1 
the medicinal ones in paper, and keep them from the air. Pick 
off the leaves of those which are to be used in cooking, pound and 
sift them fine, and keep the powder in bottles corked up tight. 

Domestic Uses of Ammonia. —Aqua ammonia is recom¬ 
mended for various domestic uses. For washing paint, put a 
tablespoonful in a quart of moderately hot water, dip in a flannel 
cloth, and with this merely wipe over the wood work; no scrub¬ 
bing will be necessary. For taking grease spots from any fabric, 
use the ammonia nearly pure, and then lay white blotting paper 
over the spot and iron it lightly. In washing laces, put 12 drops 
in a little warm suds. To clean silver, mix 2 teaspoonfuls of 
ammonia in a quart of hot soap suds, put in your silver and 
wash it, using an old nail brush or tooth brush for the purpose. 
For cleaning hair brushes, etc., simply shake the brushes up and 
down in a mixture of 1 teaspoonful of ammonia to 1 pint of hot 
water; when they are cleaned, rinse in cold water and stand 
them in the wind or in a hot place to dry. For washing finger 
marks from looking glasses or windows, put a few drops of 
ammonia on a moist rag and make quick work of it. If you 
wish your house plants to flourish, put a few drops of the spirits 
in every pint of water used in watering. A teaspoonful in a 
basin of cold water will add much to the refreshing effects of a 


PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS TO HOUSEKEEPERS. 


403 


bath, and for those who have a sour or sweet smell, it will be an 
absolute remedy, for some considerable time. Nothing is better 
than an ammonia water for cleansing the hair. In every case, 
rinse off the ammonia with pure water. 


PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS TO HOUSEKEEPERS. 

To keep a tin kettle bright, saturate a woolen rag with kero¬ 
sene and rub with it. A similar process will remove stains from 
clean varnished furniture. 

Lamp chimneys may be cleaned to advantage by holding them 
over the nose of the teakettle when it is boiling with a full head 
of steam. Then wipe with a clean cloth ; they will be beauti¬ 
fully clear. 

In cleansing pots and kettles, a wisp of broom corn and a 
small quantity of soapy water is useful in removing grease that 
it is unpleasant to have on the dishcloth. The wisps may be 
formed by tying the broom corn into bundles as large as a broom 
handle, with two stout cords near the coarse ends, which form a 
handle. 

Old leather, cut into pieces of the right size and lined, makes 
good iron holders, as it will protect the hands from the heat. 

Iron holders should have a cover of white cotton cloth made 
to fit nicely and fastened on with buttons, and when it becomes 
soiled it can be removed, washed and replaced. 

To make a mop, take old wrappers, cut in strips of a size likely 
to prove convenient. The mop should not be excessively heavy. 

When dishcloths show signs of wearing out, fold them together, 
the best outside, and run together around and across through 
the centre with coarse thread. 

No housekeeper should be without an oven holder. It should 
be made of heavy cloth, two thicknesses, and \ yard square. An 
old grain sack is not a bad material whereof to make them. 

When sweeping, dip the broom occasionally in water—hot 
being rather the best—which will keep the dust from flying. 
Coarse salt occasionally sprinkled over the floor is said to keep 
moths out of carpets. 



404 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

It is a good plan to put new earthen ware into cold water and 
let it heat gradually to the boiling point; then cool again. 
Brown earthenware in particular may be toughened in this way. 
A handful of bran thrown in while boiling is calculated to make 
the glazing proof against the attacks of acid or salt. 

New iron should at first be brought in contact with heat by 
degrees. 

To remove the taste of iron from new kettles, boil a handful 
of hay in them. Hay water is a decided sweetener of tin, iron 
.and wooden ware. 

All utensils may be purified from long-retained smells in the 
easiest and most perfect manner by rinsing them thoroughly 
with charcoal powder after the grosser and more prominent 
impurities have been removed by scouring with sand and water. 

A piece of charcoal, to be changed occasionally, should be 
kept in the refrigerator as a purifier. Milk, butter, and all arti¬ 
cles having a palpable odor should be kept covered, especially 
when water from the refrigerator is used for drinking. 

An oyster shell put into a teakettle will prevent it from 
becoming furred. 

Vegetables should never be washed in hot water. 

Old wall paper may be greatly improved in appearance by 
simply rubbing it well with flannel dipped in oatmeal. 

Carbolic Acid may be successfully used in summer for destroy¬ 
ing ants and as a disinfectant. 

Newspapers may be used to advantage in cleaning stoves, tin¬ 
ware, knives, spoons, mirrors, windows and lamp chimneys. 

To prevent milk from rapidly souring, put in a very small 
portion of bicarbonate of soda. 

The creaking of doors may be avoided by applying a little 
soap to the hinges. 

As safeguards against the explosion of oil lamps, they should 
be trimmed daily, and should never be filled while burning. 
These points observed, there is not the remotest danger. 

G-rease may be drawn from unpainted kitchen floors by putting 
soft soap on the spot and rubbing a hot flatiron through the 
soap, washing thoroughly afterward. Sometimes a second appli¬ 
cation is needed. 


PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS TO HOUSEKEEPERS. 405 

To remove ink spots from the floor, rub with sand wet in oil 
of vitriol and water. When removed, rinse with strong pearl- 
ash water. 

Oil cloths may be kept new in appearance by washing once a 
month in skim milk and water of equal parts; rub them once 
in three months with linseed oil; put on a very little, and rub 
it in well and polish with an old silk cloth. 

To clean silver, let it be rubbed with a mixture of alcohol and 
ammonia, with a small amount of whiting added; when it 
begins to dry rub with a soft cloth, or, what is better, a chamois 
skin. Even frosted silver, which has been found difficult to 
clean, may be easily made clear and bright. 

To clean brass, wash it several times in sour milk or whey; 
this will brighten it without scouring, and it may then be 
scoured with a woolen cloth dipped in ashes. 

Dry whiting will polish window glass, but previous to the 
application it is well to wash it with weak black tea mixed with 
a little alcohol. 

To remove starch or rust from flatirons, tie a piece of yellow 
beeswax in a coarse cloth ; when the iron is almost hot enough 
to use, but not quite, rub it quickly with the beeswax and then 
with a clean coarse cloth. 

Zinc may be well cleaned by rubbing with cotton cloth dipped 
in kerosene; afterward rub with a dry cotton cloth. It may 
also be cleaned to great advantage by using either glycerine or 
creosote mixed with a little diluted sulphuric acid. 

If brooms are placed in boiling soapsuds once a week they will 
become tough, will not cut a carpet, will last much longer, and 
always sweep like a new broom. 

Do not let knives be dropped into hot water. Keep your cas¬ 
tors covered with blotting paper and green flannel. Keep your 
salt spoons out of the salt and clean them often. When ivory- 
handled knives begin to turn yellow, rub with nice sandpaper or 
emery. 

Steel knives may be kept from rusting by being rubbed with 
mutton tallow, wrapped in paper and put into a baize-lined 
chest. 

Do not wrap knives and forks in woolens. Wrap them in 
good strong paper. Steel is injured by wrapping in woolens. 


406 


DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Crockery with gilt bands or flowers should not be wiped. It 
should be washed quickly, rinsed and drained until dry. 

Tumblers that have had milk in them should not be put in 
hot water. 

Glass should always be washed in cold water. 

To make Brittannia ware retain its beauty, rub gently with a 
woolen cloth and sweet oil; then wash in warm water suds and 
rub with soft leather and whiting. 

Never use white towels in the kitchen; crash towels should 
be substituted. 

If cake or bread sticks to the tin in which it is baked, wet a 
cloth in cold water and set the hot tin on it for a few moments, 
and it will come out easily. 

In baking griddle bakes, take care not to turn them the second 
time as it will make them heavy. 

If you wish to put hot biscuits, bread, cake or pies on a plate, 
warm the plate before doing so. It prevents them from being 
damp on the bottom, as the hot bread coming in contact with 
the cold plate causes perspiration. 

If the oven becomes very hot, when baking, place on the 
upper slide a dripping pan of cold water and it will be found 
to be a good regulator. 

Parsley eaten with vinegar will remove the odor from eating 
onions. 

Oxalic acid, kept dissolved and labeled, is a great acessory to 
the kitchen for cleaning brass and copper. It saves labor. 

Bars of soap should be cut in convenient sized pieces for use, 
immediately after purchasing while it is soft, and laid away to 
dry. It lessens the soap bill. 

Slices of raw potato put into lard or dripping when hot will 
clarify it. 















Bounteous Nature Rewards Industry and Thrift. 
































































































































































































































































PART II—DIVISION II. 

PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 

It seems like trenching upon the borders of truism to charac¬ 
terize the tilling of the soil as the most useful and honorable of 
all avocations. Such is the estimate that has been placed upon 
it times literally without number, while no attempt has been 
made, or can successfully be made, to controvert it. It Jias not 
only come down to us as a tradition from the dim past, but it 
.stands as the enlightened judgment of the present. Agricul¬ 
ture is manifestly the prime source of wealth, the secondary rank 
in point of usefulness belonging to that vast army of artificers 
and miners whose lives are devoted to the great work of trans¬ 
forming raw material into elements of wealth, or utilizing the 
rich deposits in the bowels of the earth; but here the parallel¬ 
isms well nigh come to an end. All other classes are nourished 
and sustained through the almost endless manipulations of and 
traffic in the commodities and products so derived. 

The more thoughtfully the ground is surveyed by the farmer 
or planter, the more fully will he realize the importance to him¬ 
self and those dependent upon him of maintaining and illustrat¬ 
ing the dignity of his calling. Speaking in a material sense, to 
enable him to compass this desirable end in all its bearings, he 
should be quick to adopt such methods in the prosecution of his 
labors as may be approved by true philosophy, scientific tests and 
the ordinary rudiments of common sense. The latter, indeed, 
should ever be as a star of the first magnitude, for while there is 



408 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

always a possibility of other factors or other criterions revealing 
something lame, that never will. The powers of observation 
should be utilized and the experience of others noted, by which 
means the observer will often be enabled to reap benefit therefrom. 
The bigotry that would close the door to such profit, so far from 
being consonant with common sense, would be repellant to its 
first rudiments. 

Some of the elements calculated to insure comfort to the agri¬ 
culturist and render his multiform labors successful, are con¬ 
nected with the question of financial ability ; yet there are count¬ 
less little matters tending to the same end, and which, if properly 
attended to, will go a great way toward making financial ability 
a fixed fact. There would be much justice in applying to the 
art of husbandry the memorable idea of Daniel Webster con¬ 
cerning the legal profession, to the effect that it was “terribly 
crowded down below, but there was room enough at the top.” It 
is a great deal so with the votaries of agriculture, and the higher 
up the followers of that calling ascend, the nearer they will be 
to what nature intended them to be—kings of the soil. 

The rank to be attained does not depend so much upon the* 
number of acres one may cultivate as upon the manner in which 
the work is done. He whose net returns from a farm of 50 acres- 
are greater than those realized by his neighbor from one of 200, 
is really higher up, according to the Websterian standard, than 
the latter. 

Neatness and cleanliness in all pertaining to the grounds in 
the vicinity of the house, the barns and outhouses, will always 
be found to much more than repay the trouble entailed through 
its accomplishment. All tools and implements should be well 
protected from the weather. In everything pertaining to the 
management of a farm there should be a thorough system. 

The particular time at which it is most expedient for the far¬ 
mer to convert his surplus products into cash involves, we need 
hardly say, a problem so abstruse and intricate that no rules can 
possibly be laid down tending to a satisfactory solution. It is 
advisable to be able to note the general aspects of the markets of 
the world, and, so far as data can be obtained, to compare the 
existing state of things with corresponding seasons in previous 
years. Upon the recurrence of the season for the introduction 
of a new crop into the market, it will have been observed that 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 


409 


prices usually have a low range, owing sometimes to a glut, and 
it stands to reason that it is often the more judicious course for 
those who are able to do so to hold for an improvement. A con¬ 
temporary authority makes an excellent suggestion in referring 
to the fact that our farmers unfortunately make so large a pro¬ 
portion of their obligations come due in the fall. That is the 
season when all have something to sell and large sales produce 
the impression that the sum total of crops is greater than it really 
is, and consequently prices are “way down.” Bills should not 
all come due in the fall, forcing a farmer to sales when his better 
judgment would have been to wait for a rise. 

WHEAT. 

Wheat flourishes best in a soil of clay or loam, and the adaptation 
is decidedly improved by the presence of a liberal proportion of 
lime, natural or artificial. Lime exerts a beneficial influence in 
different ways, not only contributing materially to filling out the 
grain, but also checking the growth of straw and lessening its 
liability to rust. A rich turf or clover field is an excellent bed 
for the crop, and favorable conditions are also presented by a 
field which has been well manured and properly cultivated the 
previous year. The application of fresh barn-yard manure to the 
crop, is, as a rule, far from being a judicious process. In the 
first place it contains so many foreign seeds that it is pretty cer¬ 
tain to cause trouble and vexation; then again it is calculated to 
excite a heavy growth of weak straw, thereby tending to make 
the grain both lodge and rust. 

It is now asserted by many scientists, that no actual chemical 
necessity exists for a rotation in crops. This may be technically 
true; nevertheless, to say nothing of such rotation being fre¬ 
quently of great convenience to the farmer, it may, by judicious 
treatment, be often made [to enure to his profit, and probably in 
no ordinary farm crop is this more strikingly apparent than with 
respect to wheat. This crop is one that is especially benefited 
by the application of nitrogenous manures, and as clover carries 
off a large quantity of nitrogen, the idea that would most natu¬ 
rally be suggested is that that product would be unfavorable for 
wheat. Yet experiments prove most conclusively the reverse. 

The wheat-producing capacity of a soil is not increased in any 
26 


410 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

perceptible degree by the liberal supply of mineral properties 
entering into the composition of the ash of wheat, hence the ab¬ 
straction of these mineral matters in no wise affects the yield of 
that grain, provided there can be at the same time a liberal sup¬ 
ply of available nitrogen within the soil itself. The amount of 
the latter, therefore, is regarded as the measure of the increased 
product of grain which a soil affords, and quite naturally, there¬ 
fore, to increase the yield, the grower finds it to his advantage to 
have recourse to ammonial or other nitrogenous manures, and de¬ 
pends upon the soil for the supply of the necessary mineral or ash- 
constituents of wheat. So far, therefore, as the removal from the 
soil of a large amount of mineral soil-constituents by the clover 
crop is concerned, the fact, viewed in the light of scientific experi¬ 
ments, becomes at once intelligible, for notwithstanding the ab¬ 
straction of over 600 pounds mineral matter by a crop of clover, 
fhe succeeding wheat crop is not injuriously affected, although 
it is hardly necessary to add that if nitrogen were carried off by 
the clover instead of the mineral properties, the wheat would 
have to suffer. The benefits arising from the growth of clover 
fo the succeeding wheat are of course due to the fact that an im¬ 
mense amount of nitrogenous food accumulates in the soil dur¬ 
ing the growth of clover. It will serve to still further illustrate 
the point to state that nitrogenous manures, always so profitable 
for wheat, are in certain combinations a positive injury to clover. 
To crown all, the results of more than one experiment are on 
record wherein clover was successfully cultivated in soil from 
which the nitrogen had been expelled, watered with distilled 
water. 

In one of the experiments to which reference has been made, 
where wheat had been grown after clover, and this followed by 
corn, the product was 29i bushels of corn to the acre. Where 
wheat had been grown after wheat, followed by corn, it was 15* 
ibushels of corn to the acre. 

It is generally understood, that the usual product of wheat 
may be doubled by summer fallowing, and it follows as a natural 
consequence, that the one full crop is worth more to the grower 
than the two poor crops, inasmuch as half the labor and expense 
of harvesting is saved. The plowing in of a good bed of clover 
will produce results still more striking, as those who have pursued 
the process will readily bear witness. It is a method by which, the 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 411 

general conditions of the soil being favorable, the ne plus ultra 
of wheat culture may be reached. 

To derive the full benefit of a clover-lay, it should be plowed 
in as early as the first days of autumn, leaving it in a rough 
state as long as is admissible, in order that the air may find free 
access to the soil, and the organic remains that are left in such 
abundance in a good crop of clover, may be converted into plant- 
food. By plowing early the decay of the clover is sufficiently 
advanced to afford available nitrogenous food by the time the 
young wheat plant stands in need of it, and this being uniformly 
distributed throughout the whole of the cultivated soil, every 
single plant will be benefited. This uniform distribution of 
food is an especial characteristic of clover as a preparatory crop. 

Too much cannot be said in behalf of lime as a fertilizer for 
wheat fields. In its effects upon lands where the product, 
through long-continued culture, has greatly dwindled, it has 
been truly remarkable, as the thousand and one experiments that 
have been made afford conclusive proof. The increase in the 
yield in recorded experiments has ranged from 80 to 100 per 
cent. About four barrels to the acre should be used. 

Stagnant water upon the soil is always a great injury. As 
thorough a pulverization of the soil as may be possible is 
desirable as a means of bringing the particles which are nutri¬ 
tious to plants in contact with the roots. 

The grain should be cut as soon as the lower part of the stalk 
becomes yellow, while the berries are yet soft enough to be com¬ 
pressible between the thumb and finger. It is a settled fact that 
wheat cut then will yield best, both as regards quantity and qual¬ 
ity. If cut'early a proportionally longer time is required before 
threshing or storing. 

When stored before threshing the sheaves should be so arranged 
as to prevent heating or molding. To insure this, unless the 
grain be perfectly dry, it should be placed on scaffolds where 
there is a free circulation of air around and partially through it. 
If stacked, it should be well elevated from the ground, and if 
the stacks are large a chimney of lattice or open work should be 
left from the bottom, running through the centre to the top, or 
an opening may be contrived running from the bottom to the 
top. Openings may also be made horizontally. 


412 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

The amount of seed to the acre usually ranges from 5 to 8 
pecks,the former proportion being about the minimum for soil of a 
fair degree of productiveness. Land of more than ordinary fertil¬ 
ity requires relatively the most, as having the greater capacity to 
sustain and nourish the plants. In some particular localities 
good crops have been realized on well pulverized soils, from a 
seeding of three pecks to the acre. It must be borne in mind that 
some varieties of wheat require more seed than others. Any 
particular kind of wheat grown continuously on the same land, 
has a tendency to “run out.” An occasional change in the 
variety is therefore expedient for seeding. 

RYE. 

The plan to be pursued in the cultivation of rye is similar to 
that observed with respect to wheat. The soil best adapted to 
the growing of one may be profitably devoted to the other. Rye, 
like wheat, may be sown to advantage upon a rich old turf or 
clover lay, or following a growth of corn or roots where the land 
has been well manured and thoroughly divested of weeds. 
Weeds, obnoxious under all circumstances, are the especial bane 
of wheat, rye and oats, from the liability of the foreign substance 
to mix with the grain in the threshing process, and no exertions 
should be spared to compass their extirpation. 

There is, strictly speaking, only one species of rye, but cul¬ 
tivation has produced two varieties, spring and winter. They 
maybe transformed into each other by changing the time of sowing 
winter to a later period year after year, and reversing the plan 
with respect to the spring grain. Ordinarily the cultivation of 
winter is preferable. It should never be sown upon wet soils 
nor even upon sandy soils, where the sub-soil is of a retentive 
nature. Upon all soft lands which have received manures it is 
sure to thrive, and if once covered in will survive successfully a- 
drought that would be imminently hazardous to any other cereal. 
In the several stages of cultivation the processes are much the 
same as with wheat. 

The amount of seed to the acre varies according to circum¬ 
stances, especially with regard to the quality of the soil, the best 
requiring the most seed. The ordinary allowance is from five to 
eight pecks. 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 


413 


INDIAN CORN. 

The soil for this product should be rich and well pulverized. 
There is no variation in these conditions ; it is a difficult matter 
to obtain satisfactory returns from even what may be designated 
as fair second rate lands. Even the rich prairie lands—generally 
regarded as the finest native soil on the American continent— 
are not too rich for it. As regards the ordinary run of corn 
lands, however, it is a grave error to rely too much upon its 
latent wealth, and neglect the important matter of maintaining 
its quality by proper manuring. Barn-yard manure, which, in 
its application to wheat, is so much inferior to most other kinds 
•of received fertilizers, may be applied to corn lands with good 
results, but even in this case there are a number of other 
•commodities that may have the preference. The results of 
•experiments made many years ago near Rochester, N. Y., show 
the increase, in bushels per acre, from the application of differ¬ 
ent fertilizers, to have been as follows : Barn-yard manure (20 
loads) 5J ; Sulphate of Ammonia (150 pounds) 28; Superphos¬ 
phate of Lime (300 pounds) 11; Peruvian Guano (400 pounds) 
33 ; fish manure (400 pounds) 18. Of course the wise and pru¬ 
dent farmer will not, by reason of these or any other experi¬ 
ments, lower his estimate of the value of barn-yard manure, every 
pound of which should be put to good use. 

In the preparation of the seed, it is a good idea to soak it for 
24 to 48 hours just before use, in a solution of saltpetre. This, 
besides being calculated to hasten the growth of the plant, is a 
protection against birds, squirrels and mice, and, to some extent, 
.against worms. The best time to plow is just before planting. 
The work should not be commenced too soon, nor until the 
ground will turn up mellow. If the ground is too wet when you 
are ready to plant, it would be well to defer the latter process 
for a short time. Planting when too wet should always be 
avoided. Whenever the ground is sufficiently warm to promise 
a speedy germination, is just the time to plant. The hills should 
be from three and a-half to four feet apart, and when more than 
three stalks shoot from a hill the surplus should be removed. 
One peck of seed to the acre is a good average. A series of 
experiments are recorded wherein it was proven that even exces- 


41-i PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

sively smutty corn can be rendered fit for seed by soaking in a 
solution of sulphate of copper. 

In shelling corn for seed, discard the buts and tips, using only 
the central portions of each ear, as the size of the early blade 
and root will be proportioned to that of the kernel used. Ears 
that have the grains as uniformly large as possible, should also 
have the preference. 

In the selection of seed corn, with a view to future improve¬ 
ment, those who have experimented say it takes three full crops 
to make a perceptible difference in corn, and at least five to fix 
any habit in corn, that is, either of long grain with small cob, 
or of bearing more than one ear at a time. Prolificness is not 
the only quality desirable in corn. One or two good, large, 
well-filled ears are far more desirable and profitable than four or 
five nubbins. A small cob with large grains is preferable to a 
large ear with small grains and a large cob. Especially is this 
the case where corn is to be marketed, as it is then sold by 
weight, and a perceptible difference can easily be shown. 

A correspondent of the Southern Planter says the beneficial 
effects of deep plowing are never seen with greater effect than 
in the cultivation of Indian corn during periods of protracted 
drought. The “twisting” of the corn blades has always been 
regarded as evidence of the severity of the drought, and he has 
frequently had his attention called to the fact that while corn 
on deep plowed land remained green and untwisted, that on 
shallow plowed curled and turned yellow. He says few farmers 
consider the depth to which the roots of plants, especially the 
corn plant, will penetrate in a deeply loosened soil. 

In harvesting, if there be no danger of early frost, the corn 
may stand until fully ripe. Injury rarely occurs after cutting, 
either to the leaf or grain, if the corn be “shocked,” when both 
would perhaps be seriously damaged from the same exposure if 
standing. The stalks should be cut tolerably near the ground, 
for the obvious advantages to be derived as well from increased 
means of nourishment as from the gain in the value of the 
product. 

It is said that to soak seed corn in tar water and then roll it 
in plaster, will add to its yield, strengthen the color, and hasten 
its ripening, and be a protection of the seed and young plants 
from birds and worms. Coal ashes spread upon the surface of 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 415 

the land are also a good fertilizer, hastening germination, and 
being a protection against vermin in the soil. 

In shelling, many farmers throw the cobs into the manure 
pile. This is not a good practice, as they are very slow to decay, 
and are generally a source of considerable trouble. It would be 
well to deposit them in the wood house or some other dry place 
for ultimate use as fuel. They make a very good fire, and can 
always be used advantageously, either separately or mixed with 
other kinds of fuel. 

The sowing of corn broadcast for fodder is a practice that 
may incidentally be pursued to considerable advantage, its feasi¬ 
bility being determined by circumstances, especially by the prob¬ 
able need of a good stack of nutritious feed for stock at the period 
at which that under consideration would usually be harvested, 
and subsequently. One advantage exists in the simplicity of its 
management, as the work may generally be done when other 
farm operations are slack, if, indeed, such periods ever super¬ 
vene in the busy routine of the cultivators life. 

This fodder, cut at the proper time and carefully saved, con¬ 
tains as much nutriment, ton for ton, as ordinary hay. To make 
good fodder, the cutting should take place while the blades and 
stalks yet retain their green color, and as soon as the grain 
shows no milk at either end. There is but little danger of cut¬ 
ting too early. Corn that ripens healthily will show white 
husks before the blades or stalks begin to fade. This is the 
time to cut. 

OATS. 

Oats are usually sown after grass, and frequently upon ground 
hardly rich enough for wheat; often after barley, but rarely 
after wheat, unless under peculiar circumstances. One plowing 
is usually given to the grass lands, and it is a good idea, when 
practicable, to do this about the month of December, in order 
that the benefit of frost may be secured and the land become 
sufficiently mellow for harrowing. A spring furrow is sometimes' 
given when this crop succeeds wheat or barley, especially when 
grass seeds are to be an accompaniment. The best yields, both 
as regards quantity and quality, are those which succeed grass, 
a full crop being the rule in the first instance, while the land is 
also left in good order for the succeeding crop. 


416 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


Oats are sown at the rate of two to four bushels per acre during 
any of the spring months. The earliest sown, as a rule, turn out 
much the best. Sowing salt broadcast over the land at the rate 
of two to six bushels per acre is a good process, the tendency 
being to effect the destruction of insects, besides affording a good 
fertilizer. Care should be taken to select the heaviest and best 
of your product for seed. 

The crop often ripens unevenly, and in case of the great bulk 
of the field being backward the best time for cutting is when the 
berries of the most backward of the field may be rubbed out by 
hand. It is sufficiently matured for harvesting as soon as it has 
passed the milk stage. The lower part of the stalk will at once 
assume a yellow hue. Although a much less important point, 
the straw will also be the best from cutting at the period indi¬ 
cated. 

BARLEY. 

The climate of a large portion of the United States is favor¬ 
able to the cultivation of barley, and this is most strikingly the 
fact of the region along the Pacific coast. In most sections there 
is nothing more to be desired in the general conditions, espe¬ 
cially climatic ones, for its successful production. The best 
crops are obtained on rather a heavy calcareous loam, especially 
if it has been thoroughly pulverized during the preceding sum¬ 
mer or autumn. Good crops are also produced from a sandy 
loam. It is usual to sow from two to two and one-half bushels 
to the acre. In rich soils and with early sowing and drilling, rather 
less seed is required. The amount of the yield is liable to compara¬ 
tively great fluctuations contingent upon the character of the 
season as well as the manner of cultivation and the previous con¬ 
dition of the soil. 

In harvesting barley, it should be bound up in the same man¬ 
ner as wheat. The time for cutting is a point requiring perhaps 
more circumspection than is the case with any other kind of grain. 
If cut too early the berries shrivel up, and if it is allowed to 
stand a few days too long it “crinkles” down and the heads are 
liable to drop off in reaping. It is a good test to squeeze the 
grain between the thumb and finger, and if the presence of 
“milk”is perceived, the crop should be suffered to stand longer. 
The great difficulty is in the unevenness of the crop with respect 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 417 

to ripening. Some portions will be dead ripe while others are 
still green, and it is very difficult to decide whether most will be 
lost by cutting when it is not all ripe, or allowing a portion to 
become so dead ripe as to incur the danger of the heads falling 
off. It is frequently stained in the stack or mow from being 
drawn in too soon, or with the dew upon it. It should be either 
threshed as drawn from the field, or not until it has done “ sweat¬ 
ing” in the stack or mow. In the former case it will be neces¬ 
sary to watch the grain in the bin and turn it occasionally, or it 
will most likely heat and become discolored. The rakings should 
be kept separate, as the grain is frequently stained, and if mixed 
the commercial value of the good portion will be materially 
impaired. These remarks refer more especially to the States 
east of the mountains, the methods of grain-raising on the 
Pacific slope being peculiar to that section. 

BUCKWHEAT. 

This product generally grows pretty freely on light, arable land, 
but the best returns cannot be expected except on really fertile 
soils. Sandy loams are good, especially where grass has pre¬ 
ceded, and the ground should by all means be well prepared. 
The sowing may usually take place from May 1 to August 1, but 
in the northern states it ought to be done as early as June or 
July, or the crop may be destroyed by early frost. It is sown at 
the rate of two to four pecks to the acre, and should be harvested 
when the earliest seed is fully ripe. As the product is liable to 
heat, it should be placed in little “stooks” over the field, and 
as soon as dry taken in and threshed. If not perfectly dry the 
straw may be stacked with layers of other straw, it being, when 
well cured, a valuable fodder for cattle. For a change, it is as 
good for sheep and young horses as ordinary hay. 

POTATOES. 

For potatoes, if large yields are wanted, fertilizers should be 
applied liberally, where the character of the soil seems to require 
such treatment, and not a weed should be allowed to grow. A 
two or three year old clover sod, or warm, rich, sandy loam, gives a 
good chance for potatoes. Do not plow until you are ready to 
plant. Sow your fertilizing substance broadcast after plowing, 
and harrow it in. For this purpose guano is excellent. Where 


418 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


this is used, if such course be preferable to harrowing in, a table¬ 
spoonful may be applied to each hill, mixed in with the soil. The 
wants of the potato crop are peculiar, and the adaptation of dif¬ 
ferent kinds of soil to those wants is a point in agricultural chem¬ 
istry whose solution is worthy of the most patient investigations, 
of experimenters. In very many localities lands not generally 
regarded as fertile have yielded crops that seem to be almost phe¬ 
nomenal. Some experienced growers have expressed doubts as. 
to whether expensive fertilizers, as a general thing, are warranted 
by the value of the results thereby attained. There can be no 
doubt that a good field for experiment would be afforded where 
barn-yard manure has lain in quantities throughout the winter,, 
thereby allowing its solutions to permeate the soil. 

There are, and doubtless always will be, conflicting ideas about 
planting. Where the plan has been adhered to of devoting a. 
hill to a portion of the potato containing only a single eye, 
returns every way satisfactory have been had, and the most experi¬ 
enced growers unite in characterizing over-seeding as one of the 
most common practices known in this connection. The plant¬ 
ing of refuse or inferior potatoes should in all cases be avoided. 
To this practice well-informed persons attribute in a great meas¬ 
ure the rapid decadence of successive favorite varieties. It is 
stated by those who have used sun-burned potatoes for seed that 
their value for that purpose did not seem to have been impaired. 
Seed potatoes should not be put into a barrel which has contained 
salt. If the potato is at all bruised, enough of the salt will be 
absorbed from the wood to cause decay. 

There are 43,560 square feet in an acre of ground, and it is 
easy from this to calculate the number of hills or plants required 
on a given area. At three feet by three feet, which is the distance 
commonly required for potatoes in hills, there will be 4,840 hills- 
on an acre, and if these yield at the rate of 1 bushel for 20 hills, 
the crop will be more than 240 bushels per acre. 

GRASSES. 

The hay and grass crop, although almost entirely consumed 
at home, is perhaps the most important of all crops viewed in 
its varied aspects. The blue grass of Kentucky is highly 
esteemed both for hay and pasturage. The seed ripens in June, 
and all the stages of the plant are exceedingly favorable for the 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 419 

feeding of stock. Even frosts fail to impair its excellence. 
Other descriptions also have their peculiar good points. The 
characteristics of clover are too well known to render special 
reference necessary. The same may be said of timothy. The 
latter is the best, probably, for hay, while clover is really grand 
for pasturage. Red top and June grass both have their admir¬ 
ers. They are sometimes confounded with each other in differ¬ 
ent localities, but there is considerable botanical difference. 
In some places red top is called June grass ; in others blue grass 
is called June grass. The point most easily to be remembered 
is that the blue grass ripens its seeds a month earlier than the 
red top. The latter does best on moist lands. Grass alone will 
not make rich land, but it is a good “ savings bank; ” it gathers 
up and saves plant-food from running to waste, thereby paying 
good “interest.” The grass crop alone creates nothing—devel- 
opes nothing. The untilled and unmanured grass lands of Her¬ 
kimer county, N. Y.—the most noted cheese region on the 
American continent—are no richer to-day than they were fifty 
years ago. The pastures of Cheshire, England, except those 
which have been top-dressed with bone or other manures, are no 
more productive than they were centuries back. The real 
source of fertility must be looked for in the stores of plant-food 
lying dormant in the soil. 

Grass seeds should be sown in early spring on a fine mellow 
soil. They are also sown successfully in most climates in August 
or September, when the fall rains will be likely to advance them 
to such a stage as will enable them to withstand the effects of 
the ensuing winter. It is a favorite practice with farmers of 
experience, to renovate their worn out meadows by giving them 
a top-dressing of unfermented manure and then turning the sod 
completely over. On the surface a dressing of well-rotted 
manure or compost, with wood ashes, is spread, and thoroughly 
harrowed lengthwise with the furrows. The seed is then sown 
and slightly harrowed in, and the decomposing manure, with the 
stubble and roots of the sod, give an early and luxuriant growth. 

The opinion is very confidently expressed by intelligent 
farmers that in relation to the quantity and quality of fodder 
grown, millet is justly deserving all the attention it is receiving. 
It is doubtful if there are any other two forage plants that will 
produce a larger quantity of appetising fodder that can be grown 


420 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


on the same plot of ground in one season, than may be raised 
from winter rye and German millet. It may be very true that 
more tons of corn fodder can be produced on a piece of ground 
than rye or millet yields, but it is not so keenly relished by live 
stock, and when fed in a green condition will cover only a short 
period of time. 

The usual quantities for seed for the different varieties of 
clover and grass are as follows, per acre : Clover—lucerne, 10 
pounds; alsike, 6 pounds; red, with timothy, 12 pounds; red, 
without timothy, 16 pounds. Grass—timothy, with clover, 6 
quarts ; without clover, 10 quarts ; orchard grass, 35 quarts ; red- 
top, or herds, 20 quarts ; blue, 28 quarts ; millet, 32 quarts; lawn 
grass, 35 pounds. 

BEANS. 

The common white navy bean can be grown on any good land, 
and can be successfully cultivated with less attention than corn, 
both in the way of labor and fertilizing. At the same time the 
crop should not be neglected. Beans should be planted at about 
the same time as corn, in drills, about two and a half feet apart, 
and from three to six inches apart in the drills. When the 
plants attain a hight of two or three inches, every vestige of 
weeds should be cleaned out with cultivator or hoe, and at the 
proper period for using one of those implements the second 
time, a light furrow should be turned up against each side of 
the row. Pole beans are planted in hills two or three feet apart, 
five or six beans to the hill, about two inches in depth. The 
white marrow are regarded by very many as the best variety for 
field culture, but the navy bean is considered the richer for the 
table. By planting before the ground possesses genial warmth, 
nothing can be gained, while the labor may be partially thrown 
away. 

BROOM CORN. 

Any soil suitable for the production of Indian corn will do for 
broom corn, and the time for planting is about the same for both. 
A bottom land or upland mold is best. It is sown in drills about 
three feet apart, the plants, when thinned out, to stand four to six 
inches apart. The cultivator should be run between the rows as 
soon as the vegetation is under good headway, and hand-weeding 
is required subsequently, together with the thinning-out process. 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 


421 


COTTON. 

This plant requires liberal manuring and careful culture. The 
first move., after the proper preparation of the ground, is to 
secure regularity an the rows. The manure is spread uniformly 
over ohc field, and, with a plow, the rows are bedded out deep, 
and the fertilizer distributed thoroughly with the soil, perfect 
pulverization being secured at the same time. The rows are laid 
four feet apart, and the seed planted 30 inches apart in the row, giv¬ 
ing 4,368 plants to the acre. The after culture consists mainly 
of light plowing and the almost constant disturbing of the soil, 
hoeing and general care. 

The most interesting chronological facts in the history of cot¬ 
ton are as follows: 1775, the mule jenny invented; 1783, first 
cotton mill erected; 1785, Watts* newly invented steam engine 
applied to cotton machinery; 1786, carding and spinning mills 
erected in Massachusetts ; 1787, power loom invented ; 1793, cot¬ 
ton gin invented. 

TOBACCO. 

The preparation of the plant-bed will naturally determine in 
a very great degree the character of the crop, and careful and 
skillful attention to the former becomes therefore a most essen¬ 
tial point. Ordinarily the best time to sow the seed is about in 
February, but even when this is done a month later may be in 
time to secure a crop. Choose rich, new ground and clear a 
space thirty or forty feet square, more or less, of roots and all 
foreign substances ; cover the ground completely with good, dry 
brush that will burn readily, mixed with an occasional stick 
of dry wood. Put fire to it so as to burn the surface 
over. Places where logs have been burned may be profitably 
selected, but care must be taken to observe all the condi¬ 
tions. The ground should be burned over thoroughly, for the 
three-fold purpose of destroying all foreign substances; drying 
the earth and putting it in a good condition to receive the seed 
in any kind of weather; and also improving the condition of 
the soil in some degree by the superaddition of the ashes. Upon 
the following day the debris should be removed, taking care to 
extirpate the roots of all weeds that the fire may not have reached. 
When the land has been thoroughly pulverized and ready to be 
sown, mark it off in sections five feet in width, and cross in the 


422 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


same manner in the opposite direction. Mix with a common 
washpanful of dry ashes 1 tablespoonful of seed (not heaped) 
and sow the ashes and seed over the ground in the same manner 
as wheat is sown, sowing first over the bed in one direction, and 
then in the opposite one, so that there may be a uniform distri¬ 
bution ; then rake the ground lightly and tramp it until reason¬ 
ably smooth. Cover lightly with green brush having no leaves 
upon them, to protect against frosts. 

The time for transplanting usually runs from May 1 to 
June 15. It should be done in old soil after a heavy rain; 
for new land a light rain will do. Plants to set in old 
ground should be of good size, say from four to six inches in 
height; in new ground those not so well developed will answer. 
Transplanting is a simple process, consisting of making a 
hole in the hill, which should receive the plant well up to the 
leaves, and pressing the soil firmly around it, taking care not to 
leave an aperture below the roots of the plant. The rows should 
be three and one-half feet apart each way. Old land should be 
plowed at least four times, and hoed twice; about half that 
amount of cultivating will answer for new land, but the crop 
must be carefully looked after under all circumstances. Plow¬ 
ing should not be done when the ground is very wet. Before 
hilling up, which is the finale of the cultivating, the plants 
should be pruned by breaking off the bottom leaves. 

Topping, which consists of breaking or pinching out the bud of 
the plant, should be postponed as long as convenient, so as to top as 
much of the crop at one time as possible. At an early period old 
land tobacco should be topped at ten leaves to the plant; a week 
or ten days later the suckers, which sprout just above each leaf 
and also at the base, should be broken off. There are usually 
three crops of these suckers, all of which must be got rid of. 
Worms must also be carefully looked after, and it is much the 
cheapest and safest to do this while they are young. 

Within a few years experienced planters in Kentucky have to 
some extent adopted the method of planting in drills. It is 
claimed that the product realized by this process indicates an 
improvement both as respects appearance and intrinsic quality. 

Cutting should not take place until the crop is thoroughly 
ripe. If the crop is large enough and the force sufficient, 
enough should be cut in one day to fill a barn, in order to pre- 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 423 

■serve uniformity in curing. Cutting is done by splitting the 
stalk with a sharp knife from the top to within two leaves of 
the bottom, and severing the stalk just below the bottom leaf. 
The plant is then inverted and placed over the stubble from 
which it was cut. As soon as it wilts it is put in piles of ten 
plants each, with the butts toward the sun. Care should be 
taken, however, to prevent sun-burn, which is very deleterious. 
Piling as directed will almost invariably prevent this. Before 
transferring to the barn each pile is hung upon a stick, and the 
distance between the sticks in the barn should be from six to 
■eight inches, according to the size of the tobacco, and the 
amount of sap it possesses. The curing is effected through the 
agency of artificial heat, and it is the most delicate process con¬ 
nected with the whole business from first to last, requiring great 
■skill and watchfulness. To cure the more ordinary kinds known 
to commerce, for which a bright color is not much of an object, 
a very slow fire should be used. The choice descriptions 
should be brought to as bright an appearance as possible, which 
can be best effected by means of charcoal. One great gain by 
this process consists in its obviating the objection of smokiness, 
which is generally a serious one. With fair weather and ample 
barn room, the curing can ordinarily be effected in about ten 
days with the assistance of a very little fire. In order to regu¬ 
late the heat, a thermometer should be placed where it can be 
frequently referred to. 

Fertilizer for Tobacco. —Any farmer who has an appara¬ 
tus for steaming food for cattle can make Superphosphate very 
readily by admitting steam from the boiler into a barrel con¬ 
taining water. Sulphuric Acid, and ground bones. The heat 
thus generated so quickens the dissolution of the bones that if 
properly managed the process will not require over twenty-four 
hours. The barrel should be tightly covered to retain the steam. 
Add 40 pounds of the best Peruvian Guano to each 100 pounds 
of the Superphosphate made by this recipe, and you will have 
one of the most powerful fertilizers for tobacco that can be 
made. If you do not have Peruvian Guano, use instead 30 
pounds of hen manure to each 100 pounds of Superphosphate. 

THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 

As a rule, the more land a farmer owns, the poorer is his gar- 


424 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

den. The most ill-managed gardens are generally where the 
farms are large, and the soil is exuberant. 

Those who pretend to keep up a garden should raise every 
kind of vegetables that grow in the latitude where they live. A 
hot-bed should be prepared for starting vegetables very early in 
the spring, and a cellar for preserving those that mature late. 
There should always be a succession of certain kinds of vege¬ 
tables from the latter part of the spring to late in the fall, and 
many delicacies of the vegetable kingdom should be produced, 
such as vegetable oysters, egg plants, cauliflowers, celery, etc. 
Large quantities of fruits and vegetables to be converted into 
pickles, etc., should be produced, and sweet corn planted at dif¬ 
ferent times, to insure “roasting ears” in their prime during 
several successive months. If there should be an over-supply 
at any time, the grains should be cut from the cob and dried for 
use in the winter. Lima beans should be also dried, and toma¬ 
toes raised for use when ripe, and for canning and making cat¬ 
sup. Nothing contributes more to good and wholesome living 
than a supply of fine vegetables gathered when they are- in their 
best state, and served while they are still fresh.? They diminish 
the quantity of meat, fish and bread required for the support of 
the family, and reduce the amount of grocers* bills. They fur¬ 
nish the best kind of food to use during warm weather, and insure 
a great variety of dishes. 

The soil devoted to the production of vegetables should be 
made rich by the application of manure. Soil may be too rich 
for the production of small grain, but the chances of making it 
too rich for the growth of garden vegetables are very small. 
Professional gardeners should be imitated in sowing seed at the 
time that is best suited for its germination and the production 
of plants. Onions, lettuce, parsley, spinach, celery and peas 
designed for early use should be planted as soon as the frost is 
out of the ground and the soil is in a condition to work. Beets, 
carrots and parsnips should be sown as early as the soil and air 
become tolerably warm and the cold rains of spring are over. Lima 
and bush beans, sweet corn, melons, squashes and cucumbers, 
should not be planted until the soil is warm and the danger of frost 
is passed. Radishes, turnips and some other plants mature so 
quickly and remain in good condition for so short a time that 
their seed should be planted at several times during the season. 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 


425 


As a rule, the seeds of plants of tropical or semi-tropical origin 
should be planted much later than those that originated in a 
cold climate. 

Onions are almost the only crop that can be better grown year 
after year on the same land. They need high manuring, how¬ 
ever, and with fertilizers that contain no weed seeds. For get¬ 
ting in a new piece in onions a crop of potatoes well cared for 
is the best that can be grown the previous year. 

A good method for keeping cabbages is to place a flour 
barrel sunk half its depth into the ground and pack the heads 
therein, throwing straw over to protect from frost. 

The following table shows the average proportions of seed to 
the acre in the growing of vegetables : 


Asparagus, 12-inch drills.16 quarts 

Asparagus plants, 4 by 1*4 feet.8000 plants 

Beans, pole, lima, 4 bv 4 feet.20 quarts 

Beets, mangolds, drills, 2J4 feet.. .9 lbs 

Cabbage, for transplanting .12 ozs 

Carrots, in drills, 2 % feet.4 lbs 

Celery seed.9 ozs 

Celery plants, 6 in. by 4 ft-25,000 plants 

Corn, sugar.10 quarts 

Cucumber, in hills.3 quarts 

Egg plants, 3 by 2 feet.4 ozs 

Kale, German greens.3 lbs 

Lettuce, rows, 2Ufeet.3 lbs 

Watermelons, hills, 8by 8 feet .. .3 lbs 

Cantelopes, 4 by 4 feet.2 lbs 

Okra, drills, 3 inches by 2J4 feet. .20 lbs 


Onions, in beds for sets.50 Ibsr 

Onions, in rows for large bulbs.... 7 lbs 

Parsnips, drills, 2 \ 4 & feet.5 lbs 

Pepper plants, 1 foot by 2 %. ..17,500 plants’ 

Pumpkins, hills, 8 by 8 feet.2 quarts 

Parsley, drills, 2 feet.4 lbs 

Peas, drills, short varieties.2 bush 

Peas, drills, tall varieties... .1 to 1J4 bush 

Radish, drills, 2 feet.10 lbs 

Salsify, drills, 2J4 feet.10 lbs 

Spinach, broadcast.30 lbs 

Squash, running, 8 by 8 feet.2 quarts 

Sorghum.4 quarts 

Turnips, drills, 2 feet.3 lbs 

Tomatoes, plants.3,800 plants- 


THE ORCHARD. 

Upon any farm, large or small, where a full-fledged orchard is 
not already in the “ full tide of successful experiment,* there 
should be no delay in preliminaries looking to the growth of one. 
In no other way, for any similar outlay of “ visible means,* can 
such a gigantic stride be made toward health, comfort and com¬ 
parative happiness. The products, to say nothing of luxury, 
can be made to do yeoman service as part and parcel of the ne¬ 
cessaries of life. In every commercial mart of the land where 
cheap native fruit is accessible, the fact is well known and ap¬ 
preciated by wholesale flour dealers that the recurrence of the 
fruit season never fails to affect the local sales of the “staff of 
life* by bringing about a diminished consumption while that 
season is at its height, or so long as cheap fruit is to be had. In 
some sections of New England the influence of a certain class 
of bigots of the Miss Nancy school has been so all-powerful as to 

27 


























426 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

induce men old enough to have exemplified the possession of 
some little common sense to cut down their orchards as the only 
means of insuring the juice of their products from debasing the 
gigantic intellects of the strong-minded “sovereigns” of the 
vaunted Yankee Land. The most common-place experience 
shows that both fruit and its juice in its pure state are great pro¬ 
moters of sociability. In Normandy, where the use of cider is 
universal, it is acknowledged that there is less drunkenness than 
in any other section of Europe. 

There are a few points relating to the character of the soil and 
the contour of the land to be devoted to the growing of fruit 
that it would be well to bear in mind as being all-important. A 
clay loam soil with clay sub-soil should by all means have the 
preference, and where this cannot be carried out to the letter, as 
near as possible to it is the next best thing. High and rolling 
ground is also much the best. Low, flat land should always be 
avoided. Sunward exposures—to which so many have given the 
preference—should be avoided to the fullest extent practicable, 
as the buds of trees so exposed will be prematurely developed, 
rendering them liable to be destroyed by frost. In all the more 
celebrated peach regions the conditions above referred to are duly 
observed, and the same characteristics will hold good as to all 
kinds of fruit. 

When trees from a nursery arrive, take them from the package 
and place in a trench in a slanting position, sufficiently deep to 
cover the roots. Should they arrive in freezing weather, place 
in a good cellar, or bury in the package out of doors that they 
may thaw out slowly. If from long delay in transportation any 
of the trees should be found dry or shriveled, bury root and 
branch in moist soil and let remain for 10 days, or until they 
“ plump.” Then unpack in freezing weather. 

There are two most important things to be kept in mind by the 
fruit-raiser—pruning and mulching. If well mulched, the fer¬ 
tilizing material is thus supplied by filtration from the mulching 
down to the feeding roots, which is the very best self-regulating 
method of fertilizing. By allowing this mulching to remain in 
summer as well as winter, the roots are kept moist, and vegeta¬ 
tion prevented from springing up, or a heavy sod from forming. 

If grafting is done early, as it should be, cut and set scions as 
you go. If trees are pruned at any season, the larger wounds 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. , 427 

.should be covered with gum shellac to exclude air. Many a val¬ 
uable tree is lost by neglect of this precaution. Water gets into 
the wood, which begins to rot before the bark can grow over. It 
is the same as when mortification begins on a diseased or dismem¬ 
bered limb in animals. 

Apples.—The usual method of laying the foundation for an 
•orchard is to procure the young trees at the nursery. It is hardly 
necessary to name favorite varieties, as the selection is usually a 
matter of individual preference. It is a good idea, however, to 
have those which will come forward at as many different periods 
of the season as possible. This is obviously much better than if 
they all ripen at one and the same time. But this point should 
not be the means of preventing careful selections. The proper 
distance in planting is about 35 feet apart. The proper prepar¬ 
ation of the soil is another important matter. The land ought 
in all cases, before setting out the trees, to be broken to the depth 
•of at least two feet. When the sub-soil is found not to be porous, 
the entire ground should be underdrained with tile. The young 
trees should be washed regularly with strong soapsuds, com¬ 
mencing about May 1, and repeated throughout the summer at 
intervals of one month. It is a good idea*to give poultry the run 
of the orchard as a means of thinning out the worms. 

To keep apples in good condition, they must be in a cool place, 
and the temperature should be as uniform as possible. Forty 
degrees is a good temperature for apples and pears. 

In selecting trees at the nursery, those whose branches and 
trunks are not thrifty and clean should be discarded. Generally 
a three year old tree is preferable to one four or five years old. 

Peaches.—Observations under the head of “The Orchard,” 
point out the character of the soil and the general features of 
the land suitable for growing this luxurious fruit. It is gener¬ 
ally understood that the margin of large bodies of water afford, 
as a rule, the best localities for the cultivation of peaches. In 
such situations they are often a successful crop when all efforts 
to produce them a few miles distant in the interior, even in a 
bwer latitude, are fruitless. 

The cultivation of peaches is an old industry, but it is very 
ioubtful whether it ought not to be regarded as still in its 
infancy in this country, in view of our limitless capacities, espe- 


428 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

cially in diversity both of soil and climate. This, however, 
ought not perhaps to be a matter of surprise when we take into* 
the account the marvellous resources of the country, which 
naturally challenge the attention of men of scientific skill, capi¬ 
tal and enterprise in so many different fields. Admitting,, 
for argument's sake, that the volume of the present general pro¬ 
duct, taken altogether, is adequate to the supply of the country's 
wants, it is quite obvious that scientific investigation has been 
lacking in many matters pertaining to peach culture, especially 
so far as relates to diseases and other prime causes of disaster to 
the crop. Time will in all probability bring about a change for 
the better, in which event peaches will be produced not only of 
improved quality, but in more plentiful supply and therefore; 
cheaper, affording the million an opportunity to enjoy this, decid¬ 
edly one of the greatest of all luxuries. Something like an ade¬ 
quate idea may be formed as to the possibilities of peach culture 
from the fact that in California, by the propagation of different 
varieties, supplies of fresh fruit are afforded throughout the; 
entire period running from May to October. 

In preparing for orchards, the usual course, as with apples, is: 
to procure the young trees at the nurseries. 

Lime and wood ashes constitute excellent fertilizers for peaches. 
When holes bored by worms are observed on the trees, the worms 
should be destroyed and the holes plugged up with a mixture of 
common bar soap and sulphur. 

Pears. —A moderate degree of care will usually ensure the 
successful cultivation of this favorite fruit. If the soil has been 
prepared by deep tillage, it will be necessary, in transplanting,, 
to dig only deep enough to cover the roots. In heavy soils, 
width should be consulted rather than depth. Deep planting 
and shallow planting should both be avoided. The pear is 
rather a hardy fruit, adapting itself to more different soils than 
most kinds. 

Plums. —This is a fruit that has blessed mankind from an 
early period of antiquity. Compared with old times we have no 
doubt gained a great deal in the way of variety, but the pests- 
menacing the crop have increased in a corresponding degree. A 
good method of destroying the curculio is to spread under the 
tree a sheet, or something similar, in the “ chill" of the early 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 429 

morn, and then jar the tree, which will be to a] large extent 
taken by the pests as a “ striking" invitation to “ come down," 
when the sheet may be shaken over a fire. Poultry may be 
turned into the orchard with advantage. 

Apricots. —There are many varieties of this fruit. The 
finest are said to be produced in Santa Barbara, Cal. The fruit is 
highly prized for jams, jellies, etc. Cultivation can be success¬ 
fully prosecuted under the rules governing the culture of peaches. 

Grapes. —The cultivation of grapes is very widely diffused. 
They are valuable as the elementary substance of wine and spir¬ 
its, in addition to being of vast importance as an article of food. 
To this point a very peculiar importance is attached in certain 
large grape-producing countries, owing to the health-restoring 
qualities of the fruit. The vine thrives best in temperate cli¬ 
mates. Success in growth depends chiefly on free exposure to 
the sun and persistent attention. Leading grape growers report 
that they have used salt as a fertilizer for many years with the 
best results. It is said to make the fruit “ firmer, plumper, and 
better in every way." Wood ashes may be added to the salt, 
together with bone dust when it is accessible. 

Strawberries. —The common strawberry is indigenous in 
all parts of the temperate zone, but it has been vastly improved 
by cultivation. It is one of the finest delicacies, while at the 
same time its wholesomeness is a point from which there can be 
no dissenting voice. The proprietor of even the smallest farm 
■ought to have a strawberry patch, while the operator of more 
•extended means should give the crop a proportional degree of 
attention. A rich, firm soil is needed, and the plants must be 
regularly watered and looked after. The plants are generally 
placed in rows from eighteen inches to two feet apart. 

FERTILIZERS. 

The subject of fertilizing the soil and thereby adding to the 
earth’s productiveness is in the very nature of things one of vast 
importance. It has challenged the attention of men of great 
intellectual ability as opening the way to scientific investigation 
in a field not only interesting but eminently useful, while it has 
also claimed the attention of agriculturists from the necessities 
of the case. The great trouble is that too many of the last 


430 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

named class are too negligent of their own interests in the mat¬ 
ter, while at the same time in being so, they betray the interests 
of the great body politic, the matter being one in which all have 
not only an indirect interest but also a direct one. Too large 
a proportion of our farmers and planters postpone proper fertil¬ 
izing until meager crops give a hapless admonition touching the- 
true state of the case, instead of adopting measures calculated to* 
maintain in the soil unimpaired fertility, or as nearly so as may be. 

Fertilizing agents are divided into two classes, termed organic 
and inorganic; the first embracing animal and vegetable sub¬ 
stances which have an appreciable quantity of nitrogen ; the last 
comprehending such as are essentially mineral and contain no 
nitrogen, for example, the native principle of lime, which is so 
invaluable an agent in the growing of wheat. Stable manure is 
regarded by many as holding the first rank among fertili¬ 
zers for most purposes—but not for all—containing, as it does, 
the debris of a former vegetation, the proportions of the latter 
differing materially from their original composition, and, indeed, 
advantageously changed, the “ash” ingredients being excreted. 
Phosphoric acids and ammoniacal substances are universally 
regarded as entitled to at least the second rank, while guano and 
other descriptions of manures are also in large demand. It 
must be borne in mind that unless the soil possesses proper 
degrees of warmth and moisture, vegetation cannot maintain its 
maximum development, no matter what may be its chemical com¬ 
position. 

Quite naturally, there is a great diversity of opinion, even 
among men of science, as to the peculiar kinds of fertilizers best 
calculated to maintain a satisfactory state of productiveness. If 
the truth does not actually lie between these conflicting opinions, 
it is at least a matter of consolation that the earth is so fruitful 
that good results may generally be attained under almost any 
system. Truly, 

“ The zeal of nature never cools, 

Nor is she thwarted of her ends.” 

Superphosphate of Lime. —It is almost impossible to 
overestimate the importance of the discovery "of this eminently 
scientific yet comparatively simple means of fertilization. We 
give the following as the formula for preparing it: Take a large 
tub, barrel or other receptacle, and place therein 100 pounds 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 431 

water; add, carefully, 43 pounds sulphuric acid. Throw in 
100 pounds bones; either old or new will answer the purpose. 
Keep under cover and turn the contents over occasionally while 
the process of decomposition is going on; when it is completed, 
empty all upon the barn floor or upon a platform and work into 
the mass four times its bulk of dry bog earth or road dust, or 
both; mix thoroughly with a wooden shovel. If whole bones 
are used it will require six or eight weeks to dissolve them; if 
broken up, they will dissolve in half that time ; if ground in a 
bone mill the work will be accomplished in about four days. 
The greatest caution must be exercised at the outset in the 
handling of the sulphuric acid. It will not do to allow it 
to touch either the skin or clothing. One ton of the com¬ 
position is said to be equal to 32 tons barn-yard manure. For 
top dressing grass lands, use 300 pounds per acre; for corn, 
potatoes, beans, turnips, etc., 450 pounds per acre in the drill, 
mixing with the soil; tor wheat, rye, oats, or barley, 400 pounds 
per acre, harrowing in with the seed; for buckwheat, 300 
pounds per acre. 

Home-Made Guano. —Black dry muck 3 bushels; fowl 
manure 2 bushels ; place them upon the barn floor and beat to 
a fine powder with the back of a spade; then add 1 bushel 
hardwood ashes and 1£ bushels plaster of paris; mix the whole 
very thoroughly. A short time before planting moisten the 
heap with water (or urine, which is still better), cover well over 
with old mats and let it lie until wanted for use. Apply to 
beans, corn, or potatoes at the rate of a handful to a hill, and 
mix with the soil before dropping the seed. It will be found a 
most excellent substitute for guano. 

To Dissolve Large Bones.— Put a layer of hardwood 
ashes into the bottom of an old barrel; place a layer of bones 
over the ashes and add another layer of ashes, filling the spaces 
between the bones with them ; add bones and ashes alternately, 
finishing with the latter. When the barrel has been filled pour 
on barely enough water or urine to preserve moisture, but do 
not allow the preparation to “ leach,” it being too valuable to 
suffer any waste. In due time the component parts will become 
soft enough for further manipulation. Empty the barrel upon 
a heap of dry loam and crumble and pulverize the ingredients 


432 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

until they are completely amalgamated in one mass, and the 
preparation will be ready for use. 

Substitute for Superphosphates.— A farmer who has on 
hand bones crushed in a bone mill and has no sulphuric acid at 
hand, may reduce the bones into a fine powder by simply using 
three barrels of loamy soil to every barrel of bones. Mix together, 
and the bones will soon heat and ferment, continuing in that 
state for some time, and then cooling off. Chop down and work 
the ingredients thoroughly, after which they will again ferment, 
and again cool down. Repeat this process until the mass is 
brought to the proper state of fineness. Some have pronounced 
this preparation even superior to superphosphate of lime. 

To Double a Stock of Manure. —Provide a supply of 
black swamp mold or loam, and place a layer one foot thick 
under each horse, with litter as usual, on the top of the loam 
or mold. Remove the manure every day, but let the earth 
remain for two weeks, then remove it, mixing it with the 
manure, and replacing with fresh mold. This is a very cheap 
method of obtaining a superior compost. 

Valuable Fertilizer for Almost Nothing. —The body 
of a dead animal may easily be turned to account for fertilizing 
purposes. If a horse, put down four or five loads of muck or 
sods, place the carcass thereon, sprinkling with quicklime, and 
covering over with sods or mold sufficient to make, added to the 
amount previously laid down, twenty wagon loads, and within 
twelve months a pile of manure worth nearly or quite $20 will 
have been produced. 

Fish Compost, Etc. —As fertilizing agents, the bodies of 
fishes will act nearly in the same way as the bodies and blood of 
animals ; 100 pounds in decaying produce 2* pounds of ammo¬ 
nia. Hence, 400 pounds of fish rotted in compost will be suffi¬ 
cient for an acre. The effect is due to the ammoniacal por¬ 
tion. One of the best composts is made as follows : Dried bog 
earth, loam, or peat, 7 barrels; hardwood ashes 2 barrels ; fish 
1 barrel; slacked lime 1 bushel. Place a thick layer of the bog 
earth on the bottom ; on the top of this put a layer of the fish, 
then a sprinkling of lime, then a layer of ashes ; on top of the 
ashes put a thick layer of bog earth, loam, or peat; then another 
thin layer of fish, lime, and ashes, and so on till your materials 


THE FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 433 

are exhausted. Top off with a thick layer of the absorbents. 
The compost should he shoveled over and over, and thoroughly 
intermixed and pulverized. Put this on so as to have 400 
pounds of fish to the acre. It may be applied with great benefit 
to corn, turnips, potatoes, beans, etc., in the drill, and broad¬ 
cast on the grass. 

Superphosphate can be made from the refuse of fish, after 
the oil is expressed, by dissolving in sulphuric acid, and after¬ 
wards mixing with dry loam, according to the directions for 
making superphosphate with bones. Whale oil or the oil of 
any fish, when made into a compost with loam and a little lime 
or wood ashes, yields a very powerful manure, merely mixed 
with absorbent earth. 

Substitute for Barn Manure. —Dissolve a bushel of salt 
in water sufficient to slack 5 or 6 bushels lime. Take 1 bushel 
of this lime to 1 load of swamp muck and mix thoroughly. In 
laying up the heap let the layers of muck and lime be thin, so 
that decomposition may be more rapid and thorough. When 
lime cannot be got, use unleached ashes, 3 or 4 bushels to a cord 
of muck. In a month or six weeks overhaul and work over the 
heap, when it will be ready for use. Sprinkle the salt water on 
the lime as the heap goes up. 

Ashes by Spontaneous Combustion. —Construct a 
mound 21 feet long by 10i feet wide. For firing, use 72 bushels 
of lime. Put down a layer of dry sods or parings and spread 
thereon half the lime, mixing sods with it, and then put down a 
covering of 8 inches of sods, on which the other half of the lime 
is spread, and covered a foot thick, the height of the mound be¬ 
ing about a yard. In 24 hours it will take fire. The lime should 
be fresh from the kiln. It is better to suffer it to ignite itself 
than to effect it by the operation of water. When the fire is 
fairly kindled, fresh sods should be applied, but get a good body 
of ashes in the first place. 

THE ROLLER. 

The roller may be used to advantage for some particular pur¬ 
poses, but if heedlessly employed may do more harm than good. 
It will always injure land if so moist as to cause the particles to 
.adhere together so as to form a crust, or to make clods when dry. 


434 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


On dry soils it is sometimes used for crushing and crumbling 
clods. It may be employed to press in and cover grass seed sown 
on a freshly harrowed, smooth and mellow surface, and here it 
has the special advantage of not burying the seed so deep as not 
to grow. 

WASTE IN THRESHING. 

A German farmer has tested the waste from a threshing ma¬ 
chine by running the chaff, supposed to be free from grain, 
through the fanning mill, and obtained 25 per cent, of his whole 
crop by so doing. The manager of a paper mill has stated that 
he always expects to obtain 15 per cent, of the cost of the straw 
he buys from the grain left in it. There is a lesson here for far¬ 
mers to heed, to be less in haste about threshing, and to see that 
the feeding is slow enough to insure a perfect shelling of the, 
grain. 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 

No work, designed, as this is, to be suggestive to the humane 
family in the various relations, interests, avocations and pursuits 
of life, would be complete without a department devoted to the 
care and treatment of the domestic animals which man makes 
the servants of his interests and pleasures in so many ways. The 
care and management of animals have been made the subject of 
discourse and treatise from time immemorial, it may almost be 
said, and elaborate volumes have been written on the subject. 
But generally, the predominant motive has been one of self-in¬ 
terest ; it was not that we owed anything to the animal as a part 
of the great sum of existence, but that as he contributed to our 
pleasure or our income, it was to our interest to keep him in good 
condition. But the revelations of science have wrought a change 
in the minds of intelligent men as to their relations to the dumb 
animals. The law of evolution, which has come to be generally 
accepted as explaining the origin of species, leads to no other 
conclusion than that there is a common relationship between 
man and all other forms of animate existence. This establishes; 
of necessity and as an order of sequence, a bond of brotherhood 
running through the whole line of animate life, and teaches us 








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DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


435 - 


that it is not only to our interest to treat kindly such of the 
brute creation as minister to us, but that we owe a common obli¬ 
gation of kindness to all of them, and that those who would 
treat any of them with cruelty have failed to learn or to appre¬ 
ciate one of the foremost lessons of the age ; in other words,, 
that they are really less advanced in civilization than the man of' 
average intelligence in this age of the world should be. Out of 
this advanced sentiment have grown organized societies for the 
prevention of cruelty to animals that are under the sanction of 
law in most of the states. 


THE HORSE. 

The horse is now almost universally distributed throughout 
the civilized and half-civilized world, and it is an animal of 
indispensable necessity. The sagacity of the horse is proverbial, 
and it is almost equally notorious that his instinctive faculties 
expand and increase under kind treatment. 

The management of the colt from the earliest period is a mat¬ 
ter of primary importance. The age of the foal is reckoned 
from January; and it is a matter of consequence among turf 
men that the mare should foal early, for two or three months’ 
difference in the age of the colt will materially influence the run¬ 
ning at two years old. For other classes of stock, March, April 
and May are the most favorable periods. The dam need not be 
taken from moderate work before foaling. Exercise will be of 
advantage to her rather than otherwise, and may be continued 
almost to the period of her expected partutrition. She should, 
however, be carefully watched, that her trouble may not come 
upon her unawares. She will generally require, when half the 
period of her gestation is past, a little addition to her food. 
Any possible symptoms of abortion should be watched, for these 
will come now if ever. If they come at all, they will generally 
be owing to one extreme or another—in having been overworked 
or not worked at all, overfed or half starved. It must be borno 
in mind that the mare that has once foaled in this way is espe¬ 
cially liable to a repetition. A day after the foal is dropped, if 
the weather is favorable, it may be turned with its dam into a 
covered enclosure in which there is shelter from the wind and 
rain. Hay, oats and bran mashes should be fed, if it is early in 
the season, or the grass has scarcely begun to shoot. There is 


436 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

hardly anything so detrimental at this juncture as insufficient 
food. If the growth of the colt, at any time, is checked by 
starvation, beauty, energy, symmetry and stateliness will rarely 
be displayed in after years. In five or six months, according to 
the growth of the foal, the weaning may take place. The habit 
of penning colts up in some close stall or room in the barn in 
order to keep them from injuring themselves in attempting to 
get to their dams when in sight or hearing distance, is entirely 
too prevalent among farmers. At best it is a hard time in a 
.colt’s life, and indifferent treatment is not calculated to put it 
in a very proper condition for winter. The change of food and 
the loss of the nourishment which was received from the mother, 
taken together with the worry and restlessness which naturally 
follow, generally weakens the system and reduces the colt in 
flesh, and that at the beginning of a season in which the most 
.strength is needed. Making too sudden a change is the great 
mistake of many. A colt can be taught to eat almost everything 
that a grown horse will eat before it need be deprived of its 
mother’s milk. If circumstances will permit, the dam and off¬ 
spring should be separated such a distance that they will be un¬ 
able to see or hear each other. Every precaution should be 
taken against the growth of the colt being retarded at this crit¬ 
ical point in its life. Nature is never at a stand-still, and when 
a young animal is not improving it must be receding ; hence the 
necessity of keeping it moving in the right direction. The idea 
of allowing young stock to “rough it” is an unprofitable and 
miserable policy. 

The proper period for breaking colts varies according to cir- 
.cumstances. Thoroughbreds are generally taken in hand after 
they have attained their first year; others may usually be left 
until they are three years old. The process is one requiring 
great care and judgment, and the importance of kind treatment 
and patience should never for a moment be lost sight of. 

The theory of Rarey, the famous tamer and manager of horses, 
is based upon the following fundamental principles : First, that 
the horse is so constituted by nature that he will not resist any 
demand upon him which he fully comprehends if made in a way 
consistent with the laws of his nature. Second, that, notwith¬ 
standing his fine instinct he is not a reasoning animal, and that 
.therefore he has no consciousness of his strength beyond his 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


437 


experience, and can be handled according to our will without 
force. Third, that we can, according to the laws of his nature, 
by which he examines all things new to him, take any object, 
however frightful, around, over, or on him, that does not inflict 
pain, without causing him to fear. 

No horse ought to be over-fed, or to have an unlimited allow¬ 
ance of highly or even considerably nutritious food. The pack¬ 
ing of a horse with as much food as he can take, under the mis¬ 
taken notion either of kindness to the animal, or of its enabling 
him to perform a maximum of work, not only wastes the food 
and does the horse no real good, but injures the constitution and 
predisposes him to many dangerous inflammatory diseases. All 
food, like all other dead organic matter, has a tendency to resolve 
itself into its elements; it encounters a thorough resistance of 
this tendency, so as to pass into actual nourishment, partly by 
the direct reducing action of the stomach, and partly by the 
antiseptic power of the peculiar gastric secretion called the gas¬ 
tric juice ; and when it is swallowed in such a quantity as not to 
be wholly reducible by the gastric action and completely satu¬ 
rated with the gastric juice, some portion of it is decomposed, 
and not only ceases to be food, but forms putrid and noxious 
combinations which irritate the intestines, and produce disease. 
So long as an animal experiences the sensation of hunger, the 
gastric juice is poured out from the coats of the stomach in suf¬ 
ficient quantity to saturate the aliment that is swallowed ; but 
that feeling once appeased, the secretion of the juice either 
ceases entirely, or its properties are so altered and weakened as 
to be no longer capable of offering due resistance to the putre¬ 
factive process. Thus, beyond a certain quantity, every mouth¬ 
ful of food must prove more or less injurious. 

Horses are generally given too much dry food. The horse 
does best upon moist food, or that which has a large percentage 
of water in its composition. Carrots, turnips, beets, pumpkins, 
etc., may be given in small quantities with decided advantage, 
especially in the winter. In summer the hay should be sprin¬ 
kled with water and the oats soaked. 

New oats are not good feed for horses. They relax the bow¬ 
els, and often if the change from old to new is sudden the value 
of the oat ration is almost entirely lost. As they shrink a good 


438 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


deal in drying, the old oats, though nominally dearer, are usu¬ 
ally cheaper, as well as better feed than the new crop. 

The increased attention paid for the last two or three decades 
to the rearing of blooded stock, is something that reflects credit 
upon the intelligence and enterprise of our stock growers. So 
far as relates to the heaviest item of expense, it costs no more to 
rear a fine horse than one of inferior quality. A farmer would 
do better not to start into the work of improving his stock than 
to begin without fully intending to keep it up. A “ spurt ” made 
now in the direction of breeding up, followed by one a few years 
later, the whole intervening period being unmarked by anything 
in the same line, will be entirely valueless and of no account. 
Improvement, to be effectual, must be undertaken with a pur¬ 
pose and closely followed up. 

In purchasing a horse, there are a great many points to be 
looked after. Excellent judges are sometimes deceived in the 
eyes. They should not only be unmistakably clear, but there 
.should be no small swellings or bunches of any kind around them. 
When the eyes are unusually flat or sunk within their orbits, it 
is not a good indication, and the iris, or circle around the sight 
should be distinct. The teeth should be examined, for the pur¬ 
chase of an old horse, or of a very young one, is not a good 
enterprise if service is wanted. In young horses the teeth are 
flattened in front and at the rear, and long from side to side; 
at eight years old they are oval; as age advances they become 
round, and in extreme old age triangular, yellow and incrusted, 
and the tusks become blunt. The feet constitute an important 
point. They should be smooth and tough, of middle size, with¬ 
out wrinkles, and neither too hard and brittle, nor too soft. 
The heels should be firm, the frogs horny and dry, and the soles 
.somewhat hollow. Ample shoulders are an excellent point, but 
it is within the range of possibility that they may be too heavy. 
The body should be somewhere near the medium size, the ribs 
large, the flanks smooth and full; and the hind parts, or upper¬ 
most haunches not higher than the shoulders. The wind should 
be looked after carefully. The temper is another important 
point, and it is a bad symptom for a horse to tremble or seem to 
shrink from being approached. A good horse will always hold 
his head at about an angle of 45 degrees, and the neck should 










The Righteous Man Regardeth the Life The HOTSe, The Noblest Of Animals. " Saddle Wh 'te Surry for the Field 

of his Beast. To-morrow. 11 































































































DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


439 


not be too long. The height of a horse is measured by the 
“hand,”four inches. Fourteen hands, or four feet eight inches 
is a fair average height. 

The subject of balky horses is one that has been discussed 
time out of mind, and all sorts of plans have been formulated for 
overcoming the evil. It must be remembered that what will 
prove a remedy for one horse will not for another. The original 
cause of it is doubtless neglect and ill treatment of the colt, or 
.after it has been broken to harness. Sometimes stopping a few 
moments will be sufficient to start the animal again of its own 
accord. Kind words, patting, a handful of hay or grass, an 
apple, or a little black pepper put upon the tongue, will induce 
him to go ahead as if nothing had been the matter. Balky 
horses are frequently induced to quietly start by some of 
these means. Sometimes the mere turning of the head and let¬ 
ting the animal look in a different direction, or rubbing the 
nose, has answered ; so has tying a string around the foreleg 
below the knee and drawing it rather tight. Various resorts of 
this kind should be adopted, but never force. Whipping at all 
times, and especially in this case, is the worst resort. 

The Tricks of Jockeys. —In view of the natural pervers¬ 
ity of human nature, the fact ought not perhaps to excite sur¬ 
prise that progress in the arts and devices of dishonesty and 
indirection has been almost as marked as that which has signal¬ 
ized the advancement of the arts and sciences designed and cal¬ 
culated to benefit our race. The developments of this nature, 
visible in the operations of unscrupulous dealers in horse flesh, 
-are particularly noticeable. The devices of this class are appar¬ 
ently without end, and their ingenuity might excite admiration 
only that such a sentiment is at once lost in one of utter detesta¬ 
tion of their villainy. These devices are so multifarious that to 
undertake a full expose would involve a task inconsistent with 
the scope of our work. Honest buyers of stock, as well as sell¬ 
ers, should always be on their guard. 

DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 

The following recipes will be found applicable to most of the 
diseases to which horses are subject: 

Poll Evil and Fistula. —One pound common Potash dis¬ 
solved in \ pint of water; add \ ounce Extract of Belladonna, and 


440 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

1 ounce Gum Arabic dissolved in a little water ; work all into a 
paste with wheat flour, and bottle up tight. Wash the sores 
well with Carbolic Acid soapsuds ; apply tallow all around them. 
Press the above paste to the bottom of all the orifices; repeat 
every 2 days till the callous fibrous base around the Poll Evil or 
Fistula is completely destroyed ; put apiece of oil-cloth over the 
sores, and afterwards heal up with the Horse Ointment. 

Staggers. —Give a mess twice a week, composed of bran, 1 
gallon ; Sulphur, 1 tablespoonful; Saltpetre, 1 teaspoonful; boil¬ 
ing Sassafras tea, 1 quart; Assafetida, U ounces. Keep the 
horse from cold water for half a day afterward. 

Cheap Liniment. —Best vinegar, 2 quarts ; pulverized Salt¬ 
petre, \ pound ; mix, and set in a cool place till dissolved. In¬ 
valuable for old swellings, sprains, bruises, etc. 

Strains and Swellings. —Strong vinegar saturated with 
common salt, used warm, is good for strains and reducing swell¬ 
ings. Or, take 1 ounce White Vitriol; 1 ounce Green Copperas ; 

2 teaspoonfuls gunpowder, all pulverized together, and dis¬ 
solved in 1 quart of soft water ; use cold, rubbing in thoroughly. 

Sore Breasts. —This trouble generally occurs in the spring, 
at the commencement of plowing. At times the fault is in hav¬ 
ing poor old collars, or not having the collar well fitted to the 
horse’s breast; and often, the hames are either too tight or too 
loose. There is a great difference in horses about getting chafed 
or galled, and at times it has seemed impossible to keep their 
breasts from getting sore ; but a thorough application of strong 
Alum water or white oak bark to the breasts of the animal, 3 
days before going to work, is calculated to toughen them. The 
horse should be carefully looked after, especially when on duty, 
and the collar loosened as often as possible. 

Bots.— Give the horse, first, 2 quarts of new milk, and 1 
quart molasses; 15 minutes afterwards, give 2 quarts very strong 
sage tea; 30 minutes after the tea, give 3 pints (or enough to 
operate as physic) of castor or lard oil. The molasses and milk 
cause the bots to let go their hold, the tea puckers them up, and 
the oil carries them completely away. 

Splint or Broken Hoof, —Have the smith bore two holes 
on each side the crack or split, and pass long nails through the 
holes and clinch tight. Anoint with a wash composed of Spirits. 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 441 

Turpentine, 4 ounces ; Tar, 4 ounces; Whale Oil, 8 ounces. Mix 
and apply frequently to the hoofs. 

To Toughen Hoofs. —Wash them frequently in strong 
brine, and turn brine upon the bottoms, soaking a few minutes 
each time. 

To Cure Broken Legs.— In a large proportion of frac¬ 
tures, instead of summarily shooting the horse, it is only neces¬ 
sary to partially “sling” him by means of a broad piece of sail 
or other strong cloth placed under his belly, furnished with two 
breechings and two breast girths, and by means of ropes and 
pulleys attached to a cross-beam above, he may be elevated or 
lowered as required. By this plan every possible facility is af¬ 
forded for treatment. 

Liniment for Sweeny.— Alcohol and Spirits Turpentine,, 
of each 8 ounces; Camphor Gum, pulverized Cantharides and 
Capsicum, each 1 ounce ; Oil of Spike, 3 ounces ; mix. Bathe- 
the spot, holding a hot iron as near it as possible. 

Physic Ball. —Barbadoes Aloes, 4 to 6 drachms (according 
to the size and strength of the horse); Tartrate of Potassa, 1 
drachm ; Ginger and Castile soap, each 2 drachms ; Oil of An- 
nise, or Peppermint, 20 drops; pulverize and make all into one- 
ball, with thick gum solution. Feed by giving scalded bran in¬ 
stead of oats, for 2 days before giving the physic and during its- 
operation. 

Scratches. —Cut the hair close, wash the legs each night 
with strong Carbolic Acid soap and warm water, after drying 
apply an ointment composed of mutton tallow 4 ounces, and 
Carbolic Acid h ounce. 

Grease Heel.— Follow the directions given in the recipe for 
scratches. 

The Epizootic. —Make a fire of old shoes, rags, herbs, etc. 
When fired, smother so as to make a great smoke and steam; 
set a barrel without heads over the fire and hold the horse's head 
down into the barrel until he is well smoked. This will soon 
produce a copious running at the nose, and he will be so well 
pleased that he will voluntarily hold his head in the smoke. 
Continue this for half an hour or more daily, meanwhile giving 
him potatoes and warm bran mashes, and gently physic if there. 

28 


442 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

be much costiveness that the laxative food will not remove. If 
there is fever, administer 10 drops Fluid Extract of Aconite in 
i pint water 3 times a day, until fever subsides. Linseed tea or 
Oatmeal gruel should be given frequently. Hay should be used 
very sparingly, and none at all when cough is present. When 
the throat is sore or swollen, some strong stimulating liniment 
should be freely applied once or twice daily. 

Ringbone, —Pulverized Cantharides, Oils of Spike, Ori¬ 
ganum, Amber, Cedar, Barbadoes Tar and British Oil, of each 

ounce, Oil of Wormwood 2 drachms, Spirits Turpentine 1 ounce. 
Common Potash 1 drachm, Nitric Acid ounces, Sulphuric Acid 
1 ounce, Lard 12 ounces. Melt the lard and slowly add the 
acids; stir well, and add the other articles, stirring till cold; 
clip off the hair, and apply by rubbing and heating in. In about 
three days, or when it is done running, wash off with soapsuds, 
and apply again. In old cases it may take three or four weeks ; 
but, in recent cases, two or three applications have cured. It is 
a valuable remedy. 

Spavin. —Sweet Oil 4 ounces, Spirits Turpentine 2 ounces. 
Oil of Stone 1 ounce. Mix, and apply 3 times per day. If the 
horse is over four years old, or if any case should be presented 
where this remedy alone is insufficient, a bar or thick sheet of 
lead may be fitted just above the spavin, wiring the ends together 
in such manner that it will wear constantly upon the enlarge¬ 
ment. The two combined will almost invariably effect a cure. 

Bone Spavin. —Corrosive Sublimate, Quicksilver and Iodine, 
•of each 1 ounce. Rub the Quicksilver and Iodine together; add 
the Sublimate, and, lastly, a sufficient quantity of lard to consti¬ 
tute an ointment, rubbing all in thoroughly. Shave off the hair 
of the size of the bone enlargement; grease all around it, but 
not where the hair is shaven, by which process the action of the 
medicine will be prevented except on the spavin. Then rub in 
as much of the paste as will lie on a silver half dime each morn¬ 
ing for three or four mornings. In from seven to eight days 
the entire spavin will come out; then wash the wound with 
Carbolic Acid soapsuds for an hour or so, to remove the poison¬ 
ous effects of the paste. Heal up the sore with any good healing 
salve or horse ointment, keeping the sore covered up while heal¬ 
ing. The reputation of the above remedy has been such that a 
large sum of money was paid for the secret of its preparation. 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


443 


Milton’s Horse Embrocation.— Take I ounce each of 
Oil of Spike, Oil of Monarda (horsemint), and strong Ammonia 
water, £ ounce Acetate of Opium, 1 ounce Chloroform, 2 ounces 
Tincture of Camphor, 1 ounce Oil of Origanum, and 2 ounces 
Oil of Camphor. This is said to be an excellent preparation. 

Cady’s Horse Embrocation. —Mix together 1 ounce Oil 
of Spike, 1 ounce Ammonia water, 2 ounces Oil of Camphor, £ 
ounce Oil of Origanum, i ounce Tincture of Opium, 1 ounce 
.Spirits of Turpentine, and 2 ounces Olive Oil. 

Nerve and Bone Liniment. —Take 1 ounce Spirits of 
Turpentine, i pint Brandy, and 1 gill Neat’s-foot Oil. Simmer 
over a fire till mixed ; then put it into bottles for use. 

Allen’s Nerve and Bone Liniment.— Take Oil of Ori¬ 
ganum, Oil of Rosemary, Oil of Amber, Oil of Hemlock, of each 
4 ounces ; Spirits of Turpentine 2 gallons, Linseed Oil 3 gal¬ 
lons. Mix, and color with Anchusa Root. 

Liquid Opodeldoc. —Warm Brandy 1 quart; add Cum 
Camphor 1 ounce, Sal Ammoniac \ ounce, Oils of Origanum and 
Rosemary, each i ounce, Oil Wormwood i ounce ; when the oils 
are dissolved add 6 ounces soft soap. 

To Cure Splint. —Take Oil of Amber, Oil of Spike, Spirits 
of Turpentine, equal quantity of each; apply twice a day, and 
grease with a little lard. 

Eye Water for Horses and Cattle. —Alcohol 1 table¬ 
spoonful, Blue Vitriol i teaspoonful, rain water \ pint. Shake 
all together in a bottle for use. Bathe the eye and eyelids 3 or 
4 times a day with a linen cloth dipped in the Eye Water. 

Condition Powders. —One pound Ginger, 1 ounce Anise 
Seed, pulverized, 1 ounce Fenugreek Seed, 2 ounces Ginseng 
Root, pulverized, 1 ounce seed of Sumac Berries, pulverized, 1 
ounce Antimony. Mix with 1 pound brown sugar. Excellent 
for coughs or colds, or to improve a horse's appetite. 

Arabian Condition Powders. —Ground Ginger 1 pound, 
-Sulphuret of Antimony 1 pound, Powdered Sulphur 1 pound, 
Saltpetre 1 pound. Mix and administer in a mash, in such 
doses as may seem to be required. This preparation is very 
highly extolled. 

Horse Ointment. —Four ounces Resin, 4 ounces Beeswax, 
8 ounces Lard, 2 ounces Honey, 1 ounce Carbolic Acid; mix 


444 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


slowly and gently, bringing to a boil; add less than 1 pint 
Spirits Turpentine; then remove and stir until cool. Unsur¬ 
passed for horse flesh, cracked hoofs, wounds and bruises. 

Cough Powders. —Camphor 1 ounce, Tartar Emetic 1 
ounce, Nitrate Potassa 2 ounces, Digitalis 1 drachm. Mix, and 
give a teaspoonful 3 times a day. 

Blistering Liniment. —One part Spanish Flies, finely pow¬ 
dered, 3 of Lard, and 1 of Yellow Resin. Mix the Lard and 
Resin together and add the Flies when the other ingredients 
begin to cool. If it is desired to render it more active, add 1 
pint Spirits Turpentine. 

For Restoring Hair. —To restore hair upon galled spots 
on horses, take 1 pound Red Clover Blossoms and 6 quarts water ; 
simmer to a thick syrup ; add sufficient Tallow to make a paste. 
Apply 2 or 3 times daily. 

Snake Bites. —Horses and cattle are usually bitten in the 
feet. When this is the case, all that is necessary to do is to 
drive them into a mud-hole and to keep them there for a few 
hours. If upon the nose, bind the mud upon the place in such 
a manner as not to interfere with their breathing. 

Lampas. —This consists of a swelling of the first bar of the 
upper palate. It may be cured by rubbing the swelling 2 or 3 
times a day with i ounce Alum and the same quantity of pow¬ 
dered white sugar, mixed with a little honey. 

Gravel. —Steep \ pound Buchu leaves in a quart of water and 
give it as hot as the horse can swallow. 

Magic Liniment. —Two ounces Oil Spike; 2 ounces Ori¬ 
ganum ; 2 ounces Hemlock; 2 ounces Wormwood; 4 ounces 
Sweet Oil; 2 ounces Spirits Ammonia ; 2 ounces Gum Camphor; 
2 ounces Spirits Turpentine, and 1 quart proof spirits. Mix 
well together and bottle tight. For sprains, bruises, lameness, 
etc., this liniment is unsurpassed. 

Rarey’s Wizard Oil. —Oil Origanum, 6 ounces ; Alcohol, 
6 ounces ; Spirits Turpentine, 1 ounce. Shake well before using. 

For Impaired Condition. —Horses need good care and 
clean feed. If your horse is hide-bound, and out of condition, 
give him a good purge of Linseed Oil, or Castor Oil—1 pint. 
Then give bran mashes morning and evening; he will soon re- 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


445 


gain his appetite, and will be all right. At any time when your 
horse loses his appetite, check his food, and give a mash. Give 
as little medicine as possible. 

The Heaves. —The seat of this disease is not in the lungs, 
as some have supposed. If it were, inflammation would be oc¬ 
casioned ; the horse would have little or no appetite, and would 
prove himself unfit for service in every possible way. Other 
strong proofs could be adduced leading to the same conclusion. 
It is not the dainty horse but the hearty eater that is liable to 
the complaint, not from the amount of the food consumed, but 
from the over eager manner in which it is eaten. Where the 
two pipes leading to the stomach and lungs meet, there is a 
throttle-valve. A horse upon eating coarse food scratches his 
throttle ; then if he becomes warmed up he takes cold in the 
wound, and it becomes a running sore or canker. By turning 
the horse to grass, the juice cleanses and washes the wound ; the 
grass being cool takes the inflammation from the disease, and 
the swelling subsides. 

Treatment. —Avoid feeding musty hay, and feed cut straw 
or hay with oat meal well mixed and dampened with water. Two 
or 3 times a week give a lukewarm mash of scalded bran with a 
small quantity of flax seed, a few ounces of sugar, and a spoon¬ 
ful or 2 of Ground Ginger, all mixed together. 

Prepare the Following : Balsam of Fir and Balsam of 
Copabia, of each 4 ounces; mix with Calcined Magnesia suffi¬ 
ciently to make into 12 balls. Give 1 ball each night. Lime 
water should be freely given as a drink. 

Another Very Good Remedy— Is to take smart weed, steep 
it in boiling water until the strength is extracted, give 1 quart 
every day mixed in shorts or bran, for 10 or 12 days. This can 
be used in conjunction with the above treatment if desired. 

Colic. —Spirits of Camphor, 3 ounces; Laudanum, 1 ounce ; 
Tincture of Cayenne Pepper, 1 ounce; Fluid Extract of Jamaica 
Ginger, 2 ounces. Mix; and for a horse give all for a dose, 
by putting into a bottle with £ pint of warm water. If relief is 
not obtained in an hour, repeat the dose, adding £ ounce of the 
best powdered Aloes, well dissolved. 

Simple Liniment. —Put into Spirits of Turpentine all the 
Camphor Gum it will cut, when for ordinary purposes it is fit for 


446 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


use ; but if designed to reduce pain, add as much Laudanum as 
there is Turpentine. This liniment is as good as it is simple. 

Tliorley’s Condition Food. —The following is a formula 
to make 1 ton of the food : Take of Corn Meal 900 pounds, 
Locust Beans finely ground 600 pounds, best Linseed cake 300 
pounds, powdered Turmeric and Sulphur of each 40 pounds. 
Saltpetre 20 pounds, Licorice 27 pounds, Ginger 3 pounds. An¬ 
ise Seed 4 pounds, Coriander and Gentian of each 10 pounds,. 
Cream of Tartar 2 pounds, Carbonate of Soda and Levigated 
Antimony each 6 pounds, common salt 30 pounds, Peruvian 
Bark 4 pounds. Fenugreek 22 pounds, mix thoroughly. 

Founder Cured in 24 Hours. —Boil or steam stout oat 
straw for £ hour, then wrap it around the horse’s leg quite hot, 
cover up with wet woolen rags to keep in the steam ; in 6 hours 
renew the application, take 1 gallon of blood from the neck 
vein, and give 1 quart of Linseed Oil. He may be worked next 
day. 

Physicing. —The administering of too much physic to a 
horse is a crying evil. All in all, it is very doubtful if that noble 
animal suffers more injury from any other one cause than by this 
mischievous practice. It is customary to a certain extent in 
the spring, after keeping up a horse throughout the winter, to 
take off his shoes and give him the run of the pasture, in the 
meantime bleeding and giving him physic for the purpose of re¬ 
ducing his system as a means of building him up anew as it 
were. It is safe to lay it down as a rule that the bleeding should 
not be resorted to at all. The horse should in the first place 
have his system prepared for medicine by bran mashes, allowing 
him to partake of it quite freely. This done, administer Aloes, 
that being the surest and safest purgative. Give from £ to 1 
ounce, either dissolved in warm water and given as a drench, or 
made into a ball with Linseed Oil. 

When a horse is brought from the pasture to the stable, bran 
mashes will ordinarily prove sufficient to counteract the effects 
of the change, but when physic seems actually necessary, giv$ 
small doses of Aloes. 

Saddle and Harness Galls.— White Lead and Linseed 
Oil, mixed as for paint, is unrivalled for healing saddle, harness 
or collar galls and bruises. Try it, applying with a brush. It 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 447 

soon forms an air-tight coating and soothes the pain, powerfully 
assisting nature. 

Halter Pulling. —A good way to prevent horses pulling at 
the halter, is to put a very small rope under the horse’s tail, bring¬ 
ing the ends forward, crossing them on the back, and tying them 
on the breast. Put the halter strap through the ring, and tie 
the rope in front of the horse. When the horse pulls, he will, 
of course, find himself in an uncomfortable position, and will 
be likely to discontinue the efforts to free himself. 

To Prevent Horses Kicking in the Stall. —Fasten a 
short trace chain about 2 feet long, by a strap to each hind foot. 
A better way is to have the stalls made wide enough so that the 
horse can turn in them easily. Close them with a door or bars, 
and turn the animal loose. After a while he will forget the 
habit, and stand tied without further trouble. 

Crib-Biting. —This familiar habit in horses is nothing more 
than a symptom of dyspepsia. It is that form of indigestion 
which in man is accompanied with acid eructations. Give 1 ounce 
of powdered charcoal twice a day in a bran mash. 

The Check Rein. —The check rein is the legacy of a bar¬ 
barous or half civilized era, and every friend to the horse—and 
who is not a friend ?—should embrace every opportunity to cry 
it down. In most cases where torturing contrivances are in use, 
there is something compensating—or at least something so 
termed—to recommend them. This is not the case with the 
check rein. There is no redeeming point either as regards util¬ 
ity or in any other way. The most experienced and intelligent 
horsemen concur in the opinion that, by circumscribing the free 
movement of the horse, he is rendered less capable of perform¬ 
ing work of any kind than if left free. Throughout Europe 
the check rein has been discarded. Sensible Europe ! 

To Teach Pacing. —Take 9 or 10 pounds of lead and divide 
it into 4 parts, each about equal to 3f by 4i inches in size; make 
two holes m each end of these pieces and fasten two of them 
together and have them padded. Fasten one of these upon each 
hind leg of the horse, just above the ankle joint. Eide the 
horse at a fast walk, gradually increasing the pace, with these 
weights upon his ankles, pulling each rein of the bridle alter¬ 
nately. These preliminaries will at once throw him into a 


448 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

pace. After training in this way to some extent, the leaden 
weights should be changed to something lighter; leather pad¬ 
dings, or some similar .appliance, will answer the purpose. Let 
him wear them until perfectly trained. 

To Tame Horses. —Take finely grated Horse Castor, Oils 
of Rhodium and Cummin, keep them in separate bottles well 
corked ; put some of the Oil Cummin on your hand, and approach 
the horse on the windward side; he will then move towards you ; 
then rub some of the Cummin on his nose, give him a little of 
the Castor on any thing he likes; and get 8 or 10 drops Oil 
Rhodium on his tongue. You can then get him to do any thing 
you like. Be kind and attentive to the animal, and your con¬ 
trol is certain. 

CATTLE. 

The cattle tribe is a rival of the genus equine in point of use¬ 
fulness to man, and it is almost the only class to which anything 
like such distinction can be accorded. The ox tribe, of which 
the cow is the female, belongs to the order specifically referred 
to by naturalists as animals that ruminate, or chew their food a 
.second time, and have mammae or teats for suckling their young. 
In the ox tribe there are different genera and species, all more 
or less differing from each other. The wild breed, from being 
practically untamable, can be kept only when well secured, there¬ 
fore they are never seen except as a curiosity. Their color is of 
creamy white ; muzzle black; the whole of the inside of the ear 
and about one-third of the outside from the tip downward, red ; 
horn white, with black tips very fine, and bent upward. Some 
of ihe bulls have a thin upright mane, about four or five inches 
long. The weight of the oxen is from 450 to 550 pounds; that 
of the cows from 280 to 450 pounds. The beef is of excellent 
flavor. 

Under the influence of peculiar feeding and careful training, 
the domesticated species have been very materially changed from 
their wild state. A remarkable transformation in particular has 
taken place in the female, and one which has been of inesti¬ 
mable importance to the human family. In the wild state the 
udder is small, and shrinks to an insignificant compass when 
the duty of suckling is over, but when domesticated and its 
natural fluid is drawn from it by artificial means, the lacteal or 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


449 


milk-secreting vessels become enlarged and the udder expands 
so as to become a very prominent feature of the animal, instead 
of a minor and comparatively insignificant one, as in the wild 
state. Thus by constant exercise the economy of the cultivated 
species of cows has been permanently changed, and rendered 
suitable to the demands constantly made on it. The milk giv¬ 
ing powers of cows, however, exhibit a wide variation both as 
regards quantity and quality. Some breeds yield liberally in 
quantity, while the quality is comparatively inferior, and in 
others this is reversed. Farmers and other residents of the coun¬ 
try naturally find it to their interest, when practicable, to secure 
■those breeds with which fine cream and butter-producing milk 
is the more prominent characteristic. What are termed “ native 
cattle, *’ comprehend an interminable variety so far as concerns 
quality, some of them being very superior. The improvement 
of the breed by the admixture of superior foreign blood has long 
•been in progress to a very considerable extent, and the innova¬ 
tion has proved a very important event to our dairy and other 
interests. 

There is a marked difference between the form and general 
appearance of a cow mainly adapted to fattening and one suit¬ 
able for the daily. The former should closely resemble the ox in 
form, while the latter should be long and thin*on the head, with 
a fine eye, lank in the neck, and not too wide across the shoul¬ 
ders, but broad at the haunches, with no apparent tendency to 
become fat. The udder should be ample, but not protude in an 
unseemly manner behind, the teats equal or nearly so in size, 
and rather long and tapering. A cow with a high back bone, 
large head and small udder, and showing an inclination to be¬ 
come fat, will be certain to prove a poor milker. This general 
description will apply to the entire race. 

Docility of temper is usually a very good indication in a cow. 
One that seems to feel at ease and does not seek such violent 
exercise as jumping fences, will invariably yield more milk than 
one of less regular habits and a turbulent disposition. To ensure 
docility, cows ought to be gently treated, frequently petted when 
young, and never struck or frightened. The opinion has pre¬ 
vailed to a certain extent, that for a cow to be able to live on a 
small quantity of food was to manifest a valuable quality, but this 
idea is unsound and erroneous on general principles, although, as 


450 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

with all classes of animals, there may be exceptional cases where> 
a comparatively small amount of food may suffice. Food is the 
fuel that keeps up the animal heat. Whatever reduces that- 
heat below a certain point and holds it there for a time, checks 
and retards the growth of both the bone structure and the tis¬ 
sues. But there are other leading causes besides lack of food 
that may conspire to injure the animal by reducing the natural 
temperature. The difference in the bad effects of a cold rain 
and a cold wind, is only a moderate degree. The wet, soggy 
coat makes the cold more intense, and its effects continue in 
force after the animal is taken under shelter. It loses some of 
the heat essential to its health and development, however much 
fuel it may have consumed. There is one other point worthy of 
reference in this connection. Ample supplies of pure water are 
essential to the health and proper development of domestic ani¬ 
mals, but in cold weather they are instinctively inclined to absorb 
only minimum supplies. This evil can generally be overcome 
by taking the “chill” from water before it is offered them. 

Feeding Milch Cows. —Where cows are kept up, they 
should be fed regularly at stated periods, commencing at an early 
hour. If a cow refuses to eat all that is given her, the surplus 
should be removed from the manger and proper precautions 
taken against allowing the manger to become sour, and the stable 
ought to be cleaned regularly. When grain feeding is commenced 
it should at first be moderate. If heavy feeding is begun at once 
the change is too great, and the stomach will become deranged. 
This not only causes loss at the time, but makes the animal more 
likely to have the same trouble in the future. Some agricultural 
writers have dwelt with considerable emphasis upon the danger 
of over-feeding. As with most other kinds of stock, the golden 
mean is safest and best. Of course the preferable feed for milch 
cows is good pasturage so long as it is available. Of other 
kinds, there is probably nothing more economical than cut feed, 
with a liberal admixture of coarse-ground grain. Where this 
cannot be done, half-grown feed is one of the many articles that 
can be used to advantage. Very intelligent experimenters ex¬ 
press the opinion that while turnips are practically useless for 
nutritious purposes, they are nevertheless quite valuable as in¬ 
ducing an active and healthful appetite. In cases where milch 
cows are kept up throughout the day in hot weather, they should 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


451 


when practicable, be allowed to have the run of the pasture at 
night. This will conduce greatly to their comfort, to say noth¬ 
ing of the advantage of giving them regular access to grass. 

Feeding Beef Cattle. —In beef-feeding, the fact should 
never be lost sight of that the profit must come from the in¬ 
creased value of the animal rather than from the mere difference 
in weight. There is no more desirable feed for beef cattle than 
whole corn, provided hogs are given access to the droppings to 
utilize the waste. 

Choking of Cattle. —This is generally produced by feeding- 
on roots, particularly those which are round and uncut, like the 
potato. The animal slavers and tries to raise the obstruction. 
This can only be accomplished when it is situated in the upper¬ 
most part of the throat, and the effort should be attended with 
great care, or the tender parts will be injured. If the other or 
more common method is resorted to, of forcing the obstruction 
down, a clevis or some similar instrument should be inserted in 
the mouth to keep it open, and a pint of Linseed or Castor Oil 
turned down in order to lubricate the parts and thereby facili¬ 
tate the operation. This done, run a whip-stock or some arti¬ 
cle of similar form down the throat and carefully push the ob¬ 
struction down. If the gullet is torn through carelessness or by 
the roughness of the instrument, there is danger of a rupture, 
which may be attended with serious consequences. In case bad 
swellings ensue, a dose of Linseed or Castor Oil should be given 
every two or three days. 

Indications of the Pulse. —The pulse of cattle and horses 
may be felt in several places on the body, limbs and head,but is. 
most conveniently felt on the branch of the carotid artery 
which passes under the jaw-bone, just below its angle. It 
is often necessary to become advised as to the state of tho 
pulse, for when that is natural, medicinal treatment is very 
seldom required. When the contraction of the heart is strong, 
the pulse is felt distinctly, though the artery be pressed moder¬ 
ately with the finger; but when weak, very little pressure will 
prevent its being felt. When the artery is too irritable and in 
strong action, it will contract quickly upon the blood it receives, 
and the impression or sensation conveyed by the finger will be 
short, or that which is expressed by hardness; when the swell 


452 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

of the artery is more slow or soft, it denotes the contrary state j 
thus there may be a frequent, or, as it is more commonly named, 
a quick pulse, a strong pulse, or a weak pulse, and a hard pulse 
or a soft pulse. To this may be added the irregular or intermit¬ 
ting pulse, which of course indicates an irregularity in the con¬ 
tractions of the heart, and sometimes happens when the animal 
does not labor under any serious disorder. Immediately before 
the “coming in” of a cow, the pulse, which in health varies 
from 60 to 70 beats to the minute, becomes quicker, and toward 
the last rises to 80 or 90. 

Holding up the Milk. —When a cow, after mature delibe¬ 
ration, arrives at the conclusion that her calf is justly entitled 
to the milk that efforts are being made to filch from her, she 
is prone to “ hold up ” the coveted fluid, and great has been the 
vexation entailed thereby. The best way to get out of the diffi¬ 
culty is to let in the calf, first muzzling it, and allowing it to 
bunt and go through “ the motions ” of sucking upon one side, 
while the milking process is progressing upon the other. 

To Teach a Calf to Drink. —A calf may be taught to 
drink as soon as the cow’s milk is fit for use. Draw the milk 
from the cow, and take it to the calf warm. Place the bucket 
under the calf’s nose, dip a finger in the milk and place it in the 
calf’s mouth ; the calf will at once begin to suck ; then gently 
depress the calf’s head until the hand touches the milk, then 
insert one or more of the loose fingers in the calf’s mouth, hav¬ 
ing the calf’s nose slightly touch the milk, but being careful that 
the nostrils do not get below it. After one or two trials the 
fingers may be withdrawn, and the calf will drink the milk as 
readily as a horse will water. The most vigorous calves are 
those that are allowed to run with their mothers until several 
months old, but there are many cases in, which it is desirable to 
take them from the mothers and feed them artificially. For the 
first few days they should be fed three times a day, and after¬ 
wards twice a day. Their food is usually the warm milk of the 
mother, sometimes mixed with skimmed milk. In some cases 
hay tea is used, or a decoction of oil cake, and meal or flour may 
be mixed with the feed. These, however produce scouring, and 
if used at all should be first cooked. 

Heifer Calves. —These should never be sacrificed under any 
consideration when they can possibly be kept and reared. A 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


453 


dairyman cannot improve his stock, or even keep it up to a profit¬ 
able standard, unless he replenishes it with some good young 
cows. There are some farmers who are wholly without faith in 
their business, and although they cast their seed into the ground 
hoping to get the expected return, they will not spend $25 in 
rearing a calf to get a $75 cow in two years. The dairyman who 
deacons his heifer calves or sells them to the butcher for $6 or 
$8 after feeding $10 worth of milk to them for a month, and 
then buys cows to fill up his dairy, and thinks he is turning a 
good penny, is “penny wise and pound foolish." He is “out" 
quits a number of good-looking dollars by the operation. 

The Dairy. —The dairy should be cool, airy, dry, and per¬ 
fectly free not only from vermin, but of all suspicion of dirt. 
The benches upon which the pans are placed are best when made 
of stone or slate, and they should be about thirty inches broad. 
The ceiling should be at least eight feet from the floor, and fin¬ 
ished in as unexceptionable a style as that of a good dwelling. 
The most scrupulous cleanliness should be observed in every¬ 
thing ; in no other department of industry does the exemplifica¬ 
tion of this virtue have such a “ telling"influence. Every arti¬ 
cle in which milk is placed ought to be washed in boiling water 
with a little soda or lime dissolved in it. If milk should happen 
to sour in any dish, the acid thereby generated will affect the 
quality of any that may afterward be put into it; but if washed 
in water in which an alkali has been dissolved, the acid will be 
effectually destroyed. 

duality of Milk. —Milk in its natural state is composed 
of three materials, divisible through the operation of churn¬ 
ing, consisting of butter, the substance called buttermilk, 
and whey. The whey is composed largely of water, slightly 
saline, and is generally the chief ingredient of the milk, 
the specific quality depending upon the character of the 
stock. When taken from the cow the milk should at once 
be removed to the dairy or milk house, and, after being 
strained, placed in pans to throw up the butter-producing mat¬ 
ter called cream, which, being lightest, finds its way to the sur¬ 
face. Of the milk taken from any cow at one time, that which 
is drawn first is always thinner and of a much poorer quality than 
that afterward obtained; and this richness continues to increase 
progressively until the very last drop has been extracted from 


454 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

the udder. If milk be put into a dish and allowed to stand, the 
,cream rising first to the surface is richer in quality and more 
.abundant in quantity than that obtained in an ensuing equal 
.space of time, and so on with the cream obtained through each 
.succeeding interval, the quality regularly showing a deteriora¬ 
tion. Thick milk throws up a much smaller proportion of the 
-cream which it actually contains than milk that is thinner, but 
the cream is richer, and if water be added to that thick milk, it 
will afford a greater quantity of cream, and consequently more 
butter, than it would have done if allowed to remain pure; but 
its quality is, at the same time, considerably debased. . Milk 
placed in a bucket or other vessel and carried to a considerable 
distance in such a way as to be much agitated, and in part cooled, 
before it be put into the pans to settle for cream, never throws 
up so much or such rich cream as if it had been put into the 
pans immediately after being milked. It is therefore very desir¬ 
able to have the milking done as near the dairy as possible. In 
.all cases before milking, the udder, as well as the hands of the 
milker, should be carefully cleansed. 

Churning. —The degree of temperature at which cream will 
turn into butter has been satisfactorily ascertained to be from 
45° to 75° Fahrenheit. According to certain experiments, the 
best quality of butter is attained at a temperature of 51°, and 
the greatest quantity at a temperature of 56°. The agitation 
necessarily attending the churning process will practically in¬ 
crease the heat to the extent of about five degrees. Some author¬ 
ities highly recommend the practice of scalding the milk as 
■soon as it is taken from the cow, by placing it in cans in hot 
water. It is claimed that a most favorable effect upon the 
cream is produced by this process, especially during hot weather, 
when the milk is liable to sour quickly. It is necessary that the 
-operation of churning should be slow in warm weather, for if 
done hastily, “ softness” and “ whiteness " will be the most con¬ 
spicuous points in the butter. If there is too high a temperature 
the churn should be cooled with cold spring water to reduce it to 
the proper degree. In winter the churning should be com¬ 
pleted as quickly as possible, with regular action, and the churn 
should be warmed to a proper temperature. The churn should 
be given sufficient vent so as to permit free passage of the air, 
.and thus prevent frothing of the cream as far as possible. Care 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


455 


should be taken to wash churns thoroughly with boiling water 
both immediately after they have been used, and before they 
are again brought into requisition. 

Salting and Packing Butter. —After churning, the but¬ 
ter should be washed two or three times in cold spring water 
haying a slight mixture of salt, for the purpose of separat¬ 
ing it from all vestiges of milk. The effect of the washing 
process upon the flavor is a point upon which the most 
diverse opinions have been elicited. The extraction of the 
milk from the butter will reduce its weight, but it seems quite 
clear that its quality will be improved. Kneading and beating 
the butter too much renders it tough and gluey. After the but¬ 
ter has been thoroughly divested of the milk, the finest salt 
should be mixed with it in the proportion of about ten ounces to 
fourteen pounds, the exact proportion depending upon the time 
for which the butter is intended to be preserved. The salt 
should be thoroughly mixed in, and in some dairies it is custom¬ 
ary to add a small quantity of saltpetre. A compound of 1 part 
sugar, 1 part nitre and 2 parts of the finest salt, finely powdered 
together, has been highly recommended for preserving butter. 
It is used in the proportion of one ounce to the pound. 

For making butter casks or kegs, the wood of trees containing 
no acid is recommended. Acid will act upon the salt, convert¬ 
ing it into brine. Any hard wood will answer the purpose if 
boiled for a few hours, for by this process the pyroligneous acid 
will be eliminated. Soft wood should as a rule be ignored, as cal¬ 
culated to impart an unpleasant flavor to the butter. 

Coloring for Butter. —An improved coloring matter for 
butter—Carotine—has been successfully employed as a substi¬ 
tute for Annotto, to which it is in every respect superior, 
although somewhat more expensive. This Carotine is the repre¬ 
sentative in Carrot of Alizarine in Madder, and is obtained by 
slicing, drying, and grinding the roots to a powder, exhausting 
the powder with Sulphide of Carbon, and having removed the 
solvent, rapidly crystalizing out the Carotine from the extract. 

To Keep Milk Sweet. —A teaspoonful of fine salt or 
horseradish in a pan of milk will keep it sweet for several days. 
Milk can be kept a year or more as sweet as when taken from 
the cow by the following method : Procure bottles, which must 


456 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


be perfectly clean, sweet, and dry; draw the milk from the 
cow into the bottles, and as they are filled, immediately cork 
them well, and fasten the cork with thread or wire. Then 
spread a little straw in the bottom of a boiler, on which place 
the bottles, with straw between them, until the boiler contains, 
a sufficient quantity. Till up with cold water, and as soon as it 
begins to boil, draw the fire and let the whole cool gradually. 
When quite cold, take out the bottles and pack them in sawdust 
in hampers, and stow them away in the coolest part of the house. 

Caution in Feeding. —Partially rotten potatoes are not. 
good food’for milch cows. They are unwholesome ; they impart 
a disagreeable flavor to the milk and injure its keeping qualities, 
and also that of the butter made from it. Even cooking will not 
make them proper food. It is much better to throw them away. 

Cure for Bloat from Green Food. —When cattle hap¬ 
pen to get an over-feed of clover, turnips, apples, or similar food, 
instead of the usual method of stabbing in the side, give a pint, 
or more of Linseed or Castor Oil. After this lead or drive th& 
animal about briskly, until the swelling subsides. 

To Cure Scouring in Cattle. —The following composition- 
has been found to succeed in many cases which were apparently 
drawing to a fatal termination : Take of Powdered Rhubarb 2 
drachms, Castor Oil 1 ounce, Powdered Catechu £ ounce. Pow¬ 
dered Opium 10 grains. Mix well together in a pint of warm 
milk. Repeat every 24 hours until the scouring ceases. 

Frenzy, or Inflammation of the Brain —Is sometimes 
occasioned by wounds or contusions in the head, that are attended 
with violent inflammations of the vessels, and if not speedily 
relieved may terminate in gangrene or mortification. 

Treatment.— First, lessen the quantity of blood by fre¬ 
quent bleeding, which may be repeated daily, if required, and 
by which the great efflux of blood upon the temporal arteries 
will be lessened and much retarded. The following purgative- 
drink will be found suitable for this disease, and likewise for 
most fevers of an inflammatory nature : Take of Glauber Salts 
1 pound, Tartarized Antimony 1 drachm, Camphor 2 drachms. 
Molasses 4 ounces. Mix, and pat the whole into a pitcher, and 
pour 3 pints of boiling water upon them. When blood-warm, 
add Laudanum i ounce, and give it all for one dose. This drink 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


457 


will usually operate briskly in the space of 20 or 30 hours; if 
not, let one-half of the quantity be given every night and morn¬ 
ing until the desired effect is produced. 

Purging Medicine for Cattle. —Take of Glauber Salts 
1 pound, Ginger, in powder, 2 ounces, molasses 4 ounces. Put 
all the ingredients into a pitcher, and pour 3 pints of boiling 
water upon them. When lukewarm, give the whole for one dose. 

Another. —Take of Epsom Salts 1 pound, Anise Seed and 
Ginger, in powder, each 2 ounces, Molasses 4 ounces, boiling 
water 3 pints. Let this be given m the same manner as the 
preceding. 

In most cases these drinks will be sufficient to purge a full- 
grown animal. 

To Cure Red Water in Cattle. —Take 1 ounce Armenians 
Bole, i ounce Dragon's Blood, 2 ounces Castile Soap, and 1 
drachm Rock Alum. Dissolve these in a quart of hot ale or 
beer, and let it stand until it is blood-warm. Give this as one 
dose, and if it should not have the desired effect, give the same 
quantity in about 12 hours after. This is an excellent medicine 
for changing the water, and acts as a purgative. Every farmer 
that keeps any number of cattle should always have doses of it' 
by him. 

To Cure Distemper. —Take 4 quarts of warm water, t 
quart fresh Tar, mix together, stirring for 15 or 20 minutes. 
Let stand until the Tar settles, when the water may be poured 
off and given to the animal lukewarm. If a small cow or ox, 
give 2 quarts of the Tar water; if a large animal, give 3 or even 
4 quarts 3 times a day. The animal should be kept warm in 
the stable and warm bran mashes or oatmeal gruels given each 
night, with a light feed of hay. 

To Kill Lice. —Take 1 pound of Tobacco Leaves, pour on 1 
gallon of boiling water. Let steep 20 minutes, then strain; 
apply with a sponge. For all kinds of vermin on animals or 
plants this decoction is certain death. 

An ounce of Coculus Indicus steeped in a gallon of water, 
similarly applied to animals, is also effective. 

Garget. —This is an inflammation of the interior of the ud¬ 
der. One or more of the teats become enlarged and thickened, 
29 


458 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

liot and painful. The milk coagulates in the bag and causes in¬ 
flammation and fever. It most commonly occurs in young cows, 
especially those in a high condition. The secretion of milk 
is greatly lessened and sometimes suspended. Occasionally the 
milk becomes mixed with blood, and in severe cases the hip- 
joint, hock and fetlock are so swollen and inflamed that the ani¬ 
mal is unable to rise. 

Some judges are of the opinion that the hasty drying up of a 
cow often gives rise to inflammation. Sometimes the cow lies 
down upon and bruises the udder ; but a very frequent cause is 
the failure to milk a cow clean. 

Treatment.— Sometimes the fever increases and the appe¬ 
tite fails, the case becoming so serious that the aid of a scientific 
practitioner is advisable. In many cases a cathartic dose of med¬ 
icine, frequent washing of the udder, and putting the calf to its 
mother several times a day, are about all that may be necessary. 
The physic should consist of Epsom Salts 1 pound, Ginger i 
ounce, Nitrate of Potassa i ounce; dissolve in 1 quart boiling 
water, add 1 gill Molasses, and give lukewarm. Diet moderate ; 
green in summer, bran mashes in winter. The udder should be 
frequently examined, as matter may be forming that should be 
at once released. 

If the udder is feverish a wash may be used, consisting of 8 
ounces vinegar and 2 ounces Spirits Camphor, thoroughly mixed 
and applied after milking, to be washed off with warm water 
before milking again. In very bad cases Iodine ointment has 
been found effective ; a small portion, from the size of a pigeon's 
egg to larger dimensions, according to the severity of the disease, 
should be well rubbed into the swollen part morning and night. 
While suffering from the complaint the calf should be allowed 
to suck often and the cow should be milked at least twice a day 
as clean as possible. 

Prevention is better than cure. A reason often assigned for 
suffering the cow to go dry for a month or two before calving is 
that she requires rest, and that she will do better every way than 
if milked up to the time of calving. To these points may be 
added another important one. The mixture of old milk with 
the new secretion is liable to cause an obstinate case of garget. 

When milk forms in the bag before calving so as to cause a 
swelling of the udder, it should be drawn. The neglect of this 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


450 


precaution often leads to attacks of garget. As calculated to 
avoid ill effects at the period referred to, the cow should not be 
allowed to get too fat. 

Wounds in Cattle. —When cattle, horses or any domestic 
animals are wounded, the treatment may be very simple, and 
much the same as with the human race. It is extremely im¬ 
proper to follow a practice that is common in many parts of the 
country among farriers, cow-doctors and shepherds—that of ap¬ 
plying to the wound, or putting into the sore part, common salt, 
powder of Blue Vitriol, or tar, or cloths dipped in spirits, as 
Brandy, Rum, etc., or Turpentine, or any other stimulating arti¬ 
cles ; for all such greatly aggravate tjie pain, and by irritating 
the sore may increase the inflammation even to inducing morti¬ 
fication. Though the treatment may be varied according to cir¬ 
cumstances, yet, in most cases, it may be sufficient to wash away 
any foulness or dirt about the part, and to examine particularly 
its condition. 

To Stop Bleeding. —Should any large blood-vessel be cut, 
and discharging copiously, it will be right to stop it by some lint 
or sponge, with moderate compression, or bandaging, at the same 
time, and not taking it off for two or three days. Should the 
pressure fail of effect, caustic applications, such as Nitrate of Sil¬ 
ver, or the point of a thick wire sufficiently heated, may be tried ; 
or, if a surgeon be at hand, the vessel may be taken up by a 
crooked needle, with waxed thread, and then tied. 

Adhesive Plaster and Stitches. —When there is no dan¬ 
ger of excessive bleeding, and a mere division of the parts, or a 
deep gash or cut, it will be right to adjust the parts, and keep 
them together by a strip of any common adhesive plaster; or, 
when this will not do by itself, the lips of the wound, especially 
if it be a clean cut, may be closed by one or more stitches with a 
moderately coarse needle and thread, which, in each stitch, may 
be tied, and the ends left of a moderate length, so that they can 
be afterwards removed when the parts adhere. It is advisable to 
tie the threads, because sometimes the wounded part swells so 
much that it is difficult to get them cut and drawn out without 
giving pain and doing some mischief. 

Bandages. —If the part will allow a roller or bandage to be 
used to keep the lips of it together, this may likewise be em- 


460 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC 


ployed; for, by supporting the sides of the wound, it would les¬ 
sen any pain which the stitches occasion. With this treatment 
the wound heals often in a short time, or in a few days, rarely 
exceeding five or six, and sooner in the young and healthy than 
in the old and relaxed, and sooner in the quiet and motionless; 
than in the restless and active. 

Should the wound be large, and inflammation, with the dis¬ 
charge of matter, likely to take place, it may still be proper, by 
gentle means, to bring the divided parts near to each other, and 
to retain them in their natural situation by means of a bandage. 
This should not be made too tight, but merely to support the 1 
part. In this way, and by avoiding stimulant applications, the 
wound will heal more rapidly than otherwise, and the chance of 
any blemish following will be diminished. 

Sores and Bruises. —Over the whole sore, or where the part 
is bruised, or where there is a tendency to suppuration, a poul¬ 
tice should be applied and kept on by suitable bandages. The 1 
poultice may be made of any kind of meal, fine bran, bruised 
flaxseed, or of mashed turnips, carrots, etc. The following has 
been found useful as a common poultice : Tine Bran 1 quart ; 
pour on it a sufficient quantity of boiling water to make a thin 
paste; to this add Flaxseed Powder enough to give it a proper 
consistence. The poultice may be kept on for a week or Iff 
days, or even longer, if necessary, changing it once or twice a 
day; cleaning the wound when the poultice is removed, by 
washing with a soft linen cloth with Carbolic Acid soap and 
water not more than blood-warm, or, when the wound is deep,, 
the Carbolic soap suds may be injected into it by a syringe, in 
order to clean it from the bottom. 

Ointment. —In the course of a few days, when the wound,, 
by care and proper management with the poultices, begins to 
put on a healthy appearance, and seems to be clean and of a 
reddish color, not black or bloody, then there may be applied an 
ointment made of tallow, linseed oil, beeswax and hog’s lard, in 
such proportion as to make it of a consistence somewhat firmer 
than butter. The ointment should be spread on some soft cotton 
lint; and when applied to the sore, it ought never to be tied 
hard upon it, (which is done too frequently, and very improp¬ 
erly), but only fixed by a bandage of a proper length (for a mere: 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


461 


cord is often improper), so close and securely as to keep it from 
slipping off. This application may be changed once a day; or, 
when nearly well, and discharging but little, once in two days. 

Green Ointment for Wounds. —Put into a well-glazed 
-earthen vessel 2 ounces Beeswax; melt over a clear fire, and 
add 2 ounces Rosin ; when that is melted, put in i pound Hog’s 
Lard y to this put 4 ounces Turpentine; keep stirring all the 
time with a clean stick or wooden spatula. Be careful that it 
does not boil over. When all is well mixed, strain through a 
coarse cloth, and add £ ounce Carbolic Acid. This ointment is 
very good for old and recent wounds, whether in flesh or hoof, 

galled backs, cracked heels, scratches, ulcers, old sores, bites, etc. 

* 

SWINE. 

Swine are not indigenous to America, but were brought hither 
by emigrants from various countries, and there was rather a 
wide variation in the primitive stock while the subsequent intro¬ 
duction of improved breeds has greatly increased the combina¬ 
tions. At an early period of our history hog products consti¬ 
tuted an important article of export, this being especially the 
case during the Napoleonic wars. The volume of exports since 
that era has exhibited great irregularity under the influence of 
the numerous causes at all times liable to affect commercial 
affairs. Swine are reared in all parts of the country and usually 
at a handsome profit. The most favorable conditions exist where 
■subsistence is in part afforded by utilizing articles of food virtu¬ 
ally of a cast-off nature, or those which are comparatively inex¬ 
pensive and have no particular commercial value. They are 
generally kept to advantage in connection with a dairy or 
orchard. In the fertile regions of the west—especially upon large 
farms, where there is always more or less of unmerchantable corn 
and miscellaneous feed—they are reared in the greatest num¬ 
bers. It is hardly necessary to add that sound corn is also freely 
fed, as the most convenient method of realizing the marketable 
value of that product. But while hogs very properly are fed 
upon articles that would otherwise largely have little or no 
value, and that are in themselves pure and wholesome, they 
should never be made to consume food that is impure and un¬ 
wholesome. While man is fond of accusing the hog of being 
filthy in his habits, and unclean in his flesh, he does not c harg e 


462 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


up to liis own account the responsibility of making him so by 
his failure to provide him with proper quarters and suitable food. 

It would be well to remember a few of the leading character¬ 
istics of a superior grade of hogs. There should be a sufficient 
depth of carcass and such elongation of body as will insure a 
sufficient lateral expansion. The loin and breast should be- 
broad. The breadth of the latter denotes ample room for the- 
play of the lungs, and, as a consequence, a free and healthy 
circulation, essential to the well being of any animal. The bones 
should be small and the joints fine. The last named character¬ 
istics always belong to the best breeds; in others they are of 
course less marked. The legs should be no longer than is re¬ 
quired for the support of the carcass. The feet should be firm 
and sound, the toes lying well together and pressing straightly 
upon the ground. As with all animals, the character of the- 
head is an important point. It should not be too largely devel¬ 
oped in bone nor too flat on the forehead, nor have too long a 
snout. The forehead should be rather convex, and the ear, 
while pendulous, should incline somewhat forward, and at the 
same time be light and thin. The carriage should also be 
noticed. If this be dull, heavy and dejected, one may reason¬ 
ably suspect ill health, or some incipient disorder. But of course 
under certain circumstances, for example in the case of a fat 
hog, sprightliness of action can not be expected. 

In the selection of animals specially for breeding purposes, 
particular consideration is necessary. With a little judgment, 
and management and at less expense than is generally incurred, 
it is almost invariably as easy to procure a good breed as an 
inferior one. The breed to be selected will naturally depend 
somewhat upon the purpose for which it is desired to rear stock,, 
whether for pork or bacon. 

When roots or swill constitute the food of pigs it is necessary 
that they should have warm pens to do well. This is not as 
necessary when they are fed exclusively on corn or other grain, 
as these foods contain more carbon, and help the pig to with¬ 
stand the cold. There is no practical reason, however, in going 
to the expense of raising grain to fight cold when a closely made 
pen is so much more practicable and cheaper in the long run. 

Some farmers neglect to keep up their hogs until they are fat 
enough. A hog should be very fat. But the sooner he can be- 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


4G3 


got full of solid, dense fat the better. All the time during 
the process of fattening some food is being consumed in keeping 
up the vital functions; only the residue is stored up as fat. 
The longer the hog is fattening the more food is consumed for 
this purpose; and the shorter the time the less likelihood of 
loss from accident or disease, and the sooner the farmer can put 
his capital to use again. Farmers who adopt the practice of 
grazing pigs in summer upon clover or grass, and then finishing 
them off in the fall for a couple of weeks on corn, can stand a 
lower market than those who feed their pigs in the pen all the 
year round. Grazing makes cheap pork. 

When pigs are fed plentifully with soft corn, it sours on the 
stomach, and charcoal should be given as a corrective. It will 
be greedily eaten, and will enable the pigs to dispose of more 
corn and with better prospect of gain. 

Relative Value of Heavy and Light Hogs.— Heavy 
hogs are the most profitable to raise and fatten. As will be seen 
by the following table, the minimum weights of merchantable 
hogs yield 10 to 12 per cent, less of pork than the heavier 
weights, the computation being by the stone, or 14 pounds : 


Live Weight in Per Cent, 

Stones of 14 pounds. of Pork. 

Above 40 stones.87 to 88 

From 35 to 40 stones. 84 to 86 

“ 30 to 35 “ 83 to 84 

“ 25 to 30 “ 81 to 82 

“ 20 to 25 “ . 80 

“ 15 to 20 “ 77 to 78 

Under 15 “ . 75 to 77 


Swine Plague, or Hog Cholera. —As soon as noticed, 
the diseased pigs should be separated from the herd and placed 
in a warm pen, free from exposure to cold winds and rains. Car¬ 
bolic Acid is a very effective remedy, as it destroys all low forms 
of organic life. Each diseased pig should be given 10 drops of 
Carbolic Acid in a pint of milk 3 times each day. Charcoal is 
an active antiseptic, hence before feeding, the corn ears should 
be charred, or charcoal may be given with good effect, especially 
as a preventive. The great object to be attained is to prevent the 
disease, as a pig once affected rarely becomes healthy and fit for 
human food. The preventive means are: Let the hogs have 
plenty of room, and only a few in a drove; see that they have 
pure, clean drinking water, and the ground on which they are 









4Gd PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

fed should be well covered with wood ashes, charcoal and salt; 
give once or twice a week in the swill or water, kerosene oil, so 
each hog will get about 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls. Sulphur may 
also be given freely. By following these rules a drove of hogs 
will escape not only hog cholera, but will be free from all other 
diseases. 

Choking. —In case of choking in swine, employ the same 
treatment as prescribed for choking in cattle, using care not to 
rupture the passage, which would likely prove fatal to the ani¬ 
mal. Feed soft food only for several days after the accident. 

SHEEP. 

Sheep completes the list of large domestic animals that are 
pre-eminently useful to mankind. With the exception of the 
Rocky Mountain sheep, there are probably none that are really 
indigenous to North America. Improved breeds were brought 
into the country at a comparatively early day. Before this 
period our flocks consisted of early importations and their prog¬ 
eny, a specimem of which would now be regarded as a great 
curiosity. They would be practically valueless from the stand¬ 
point of the present. Great changes have taken place not only 
in this country but all over the world, a change in which the 
Spanish merino have played a very important part. This is one 
of the most remarkable breeds of domestic animals in the world, 
in that its superiority has been maintained for centuries without 
inter-crossing with other breeds. Some of the most valuable 
characteristics of the breed have been transmitted in a marked 
degree to their descendants in cases of exportation and crossing 
with other kinds. The merinos, however, are said to have their 
weak points, due no doubt in a greater or less degree to faulty 
management. Quite a number of other choice varieties have 
been brought into the country. 

While the production of wool in this country has shown an 
immense increase, the consumption has also been on a constantly 
advancing scale, and beside the home product, large importations 
are required to meet the wants of our manufacturing interests. 
There is therefore no present danger that the production will be 
stimulated to too high a point. 

When the market for wool has ruled low, it has been too much 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


465 


the habit with farmers in many parts of the country to become 
discouraged, and convert their flocks as far as possible into mut¬ 
ton. This is an unwise policy, for it is very common in com¬ 
mercial experience for one extreme in prices to follow another, 
and this has been often exemplified with regard to wool, and 
the recurrence of high prices has reminded farmers that they 
have made a great mistake. 

Where mixed farming is carried on, a certain number of sheep, 
as a rule one to each acre of improved land, can be profitably 
kept, they being scavengers in a certain way, and their fondness 
for a variety of food is such that they will grow and thrive on 
pastures where other farm stock will not; they greatly aid the 
farmer in clearing the field and fence corners of weeds, brush 
and briars. 

Sheep exhaust the soil less than any other kind of stock, their 
quiet disposition allows them to be kept with less expensive 
fences, and the trouble of caring for them both summer and 
winter is much less than that of other stock. They yield two 
incomes per annum, namely, fleece and increase. To receive the 
greatest profit, the wool should be sold and the lambs retained, 
and fat sheep and culls be sold in their stead, providing the 
flock is as large as is desired. They should have free access to 
both salt and water, but more especially in winter. Some grain 
farmers buy sheep to fatten during winter, feeding them on 
wheat straw and grain, claiming to make a profit in two ways, 
gain on the sheep and converting the straw into a more valuable 
fertilizer than in any other way. 

Care and Management. —The following general direc¬ 
tions may profitably be observed : 

Sheep should invariably be kept dry under foot with litter. 
'This is quite as important as keeping them under good cover. 
They should never stand in mud or snow. 

Keep them well fed throughout the winter. The starvation 
policy is ruinous. 

When there are more sheep than can be kept or sold, the sur¬ 
plus should be killed. 

Furnish an ample supply of good water. 

Avoid, as far as practicable, any sudden change of food. 

Drop or take out the lowest bars when the sheep go through, 
thus avoiding broken limbs. 


466 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


Count the flock every day. 

If a ewe loses her lamb, milk her daily for a few days, and mix: 
a little Alum with her salt. 

Let no hogs eat with the sheep, especially in the spring. 

Give lambs a little mill-feed in time of weaning. 

Never frighten sheep when it is possible to avoid it. Separate 
all weak, thin or sick from those that are strong, in the fall, and 
give them special care. 

If any one of your sheep is hurt, catch it at once and wash 
the wound; and, if it is fly-time, apply Spirits of Turpentine 
daily, and always wash with something healing. If a limb is 
broken, bind it with splinters, but not too tight. 

Keep a number of good bells on the sheep. 

Do not let the sheep spoil their wool with chaff or burrs. 

Cut tag-locks in early spring. 

For scours, give pulverized Alum in wheat bran; prevent by 
taking great care in changing dry for green feed. 

If one is lame, examine the foot, clean out between the hoofs,. 
pare the hoof if unsound, and apply a wash of Carbolic Acid,, 
diluted with 8 parts water to 1 of Acid. 

Shear at once any sheep commencing to shed its wool, unless- 
the weather is too severe, and save carefully the pelt of any 
sheep that dies. 

If sheep are given pine boughs once or twice a week, they will 
create appetite, prevent disease, and increase their health. 

General health during the grazing season will be promoted by 
giving the sheep tar, at the rate of a gill a day for every 20 sheep.. 
Put the tar in a trough, sprinkle a little fine salt over it, and the 
sheep will consume it with eagerness. 

If sheep-breeders would adopt the practice of turning cattle 
upon the aftermath of their low and dangerous pastures instead 
of sending their sheep there, they would avoid the risk of sus¬ 
taining grievous losses. 

Fattening Sheep. —If it is desired to fatten sheep rapidly, 
the addition of a small quantity of oats to their food will be of 
great service ; a gallon of oats once a day, among 20 sheep, will 
be a great help to fattening. Fattening sheep do not require 
very warm quarters—in fact, they will not bear close confine¬ 
ment, but their quarters must be dry, well ventilated, and abun¬ 
dantly littered with clean straw; they must be fed regularly,, 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


46T 


kept quiet, have access to water, and an occasional taste of salt. 
It will be found that when the weather is very cold they will 
require somewhat more food than at other times, in order to* 
counteract the waste of substance used in generating heat for 
their bodies, otherwise they will lose instead of gaining on cold 
or stormy days. 

Lambing Season. —The ewe goes with lamb five months.. 
Even with the best care considerable danger attends this early 
period of the year, and even when the season is further ad¬ 
vanced, a few cold nights are fatal to many lambs. The duties- 
of the farmer at this particular juncture should be much more 
carefully attended to than has generally been the case. To ena¬ 
ble the ewe to produce her lamb with comparative safety she 
should not be too well fed, but at the same time her feeding 
should be such as to give her strength for her coming trials. 
Thus a middle course should be pursued, for with too high feed¬ 
ing there will be liability to fever. 

When the time of yeaning approaches, a little care may pre¬ 
vent a very great loss. The ewes should be brought as near 
home as possible. They should be sheltered from the wind, if 
it be only a high and thick hedge; but a shed, however rudely 
constructed, would abundantly pay the expense of building. At 
night, particularly, they should be folded in some sheltered place. 

The care of the farmer will vary a great deal according to the 
period of the year and the state of the weather. In the early 
lambing the greatest losses are at the beginning, arising prin¬ 
cipally from cold. In March or April the latter part of the 
lambing season is most dangerous, owing to the liability of the 
ewes to over-feed themselves. 

The “clatting”of the ewes is a very useful practice. They 
are thrown, and a portion of the wool is removed from their tails 
and udders. The sticking together of the wool from the purg¬ 
ing to which the ewe is often subject in the early part of the 
spring, when the grass is fresh, has lost many a lamb. 

An experienced lamber will almost always tell when the ewe 
is about to yean. If he finds her soon afterwards taken with 
labor pains, and they continue to succeed each other regularly, 
and she remains lying down, he will take care not to disturb her; 


468 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

but if a couple of hours pass, and the lamb is not produced, he 
carefully examines her. If the nose and the tips of the toes 
have presented themselves, and the lamb seems to be in a proper 
position, but the head is large, or the passage is narrow, he 
leaves her again for another hour; but if there is evidently a 
false presentation, he introduces one or two fingers, or his hand, 
well guarded with oil, puts the young one in the proper position, 
.and nature will effect the rest. 

Care of Lambs. —Attention should now be paid to the 
lamb, and it requires it even more than the mother. It is want 
,of care that causes the loss of more than four-fifths of the dead 
lambs. The principal evil is exposure to cold. If the weather 
is severe, great numbers are often lost in a single night. A com¬ 
fortable shed for them to go into, well supplied with straw, would 
generally save the greater part of them. The farmer needs but 
to use a little observation in order to be convinced how eagerly 
the ewes and the lambs seek that shelter, and how safe they are 
.compared with others that are exposed. Let the farmer think 
•of the sudden change of temperature to which the lamb has 
been subjected, and he will hardly need any further admonition 
on this point. 

The lambs are not quite out of danger when a day or two has 
passed after they have dropped. They live for the first week or 
fortnight on the mother’s milk, and then begin to imitate their 
parent and graze a little ; indeed, they have not their teeth up 
to enable them to graze at first. They should not be put on too 
good pasture at this early period, for the change of food is often 
dangerous. If the ewes will not feed well at all, they should be 
forced with good gruel, the best of which is made of equal parts 
of oat and flaxseed meal. 

Coagulation of Milk. —The curdling of the milk fre¬ 
quently carries off the finest and best of the flock. The lamb 
may have an excess of nutriment, and particularly of its mother’s 
milk. When it seems to thrive at an extraordinary rate the 
mother’s bag should be examined, and if it is too large and full 
it will be prudent to milk away some portion daily to prevent the 
lamb from taking more than it can digest. If this is not done 
the milk will be likely to coagulate, and if thefe is any consid¬ 
erable accumulation the lamb will be choked and in all probabil- 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


469 1 


ity destroyed. There is often apparent purging. The first 
thing to be done is to administer Magnesia in £ ounce doses, or 
some other alkali, twice a day; afterward 2 to 4 drachms Epsom 
Salts, with a little Ginger dissolved in warm water. The pas¬ 
ture should be changed to one of less luxuriance. 

Castration, —This operation is a simple one in the sheep, 
and yet is often attended with danger—sometimes resulting from 
the unskillfulness of the operator, and at other times from some 
unfavorable state of the atmosphere. The younger the lambs 
are the better, provided they are not very weak. When 10 to 15 
days old appears to be the best time. The lamb being well se¬ 
cured, the bag should be grasped with one hand high up, and the 
testicles pushed down as low as possible ; two incisions must then 
be made across the bag at the bottom, and the parts forced out. 
The testicles should be drawn down an inch or more and the 
cord cut close to the scrotum with a knife that is not very sharp. 
Scarcely a drop of blood will follow if the work is properly per¬ 
formed. 

Diarrhea. —This disease frequently destroys lambs before 
they are three days old; oftener it does not appear before they 
are a week old. Even in the latter case the chances are greatly 
against them, but if the disease appears when they are two or 
three months old they may recover with careful treatment. 
Warmth and new cow’s milk are good remedies. Sometimes 
the milk of the dam disagrees with the lamb. As soon as this 
cause becomes apparent the ewe should have a change of food. 
Give daily a few messes of wheat in the sheaf ; a regular quan¬ 
tity of salt at all times. If it occurs in the winter, steep, in 
brine, ripe hay, in the seed ; wheat chaff is good, as is a small 
quantity of oats, and a few pine or hemlock tops. Keep them a 
few days on ripe hay or corn fodder. 

Inflammation of the Lungs. —This is not unfrequently 
the result of a common cold, not attended to. It more com¬ 
monly appears in the spring of the year ; its symptoms are dull¬ 
ness, hanging of the ears, quick breathing, cough, and discharge, 
from the nostrils. A dose of salts should be given, after which 
the following may be administered : Fluid Extract of Aconite, 

5 drops ; powdered Nitre, 2 drachms ; mix with lukewarm corn 


470 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

meal gruel and give all for a single dose to a full-grown sheep, 
and from i to i the quantity to a lamb, according to its age. 
Repeat the dose three times a day until the fever subsides. 

Sore Nipples. —Lambs often die of hunger, from their 
dams refusing them suck. The cause of this many times is sore 
nipples, or some tumor in the udder, in which violent pain is 
excited by the tugging of the lamb. Washing with a decoction 
of Oak Bark, or anointing the teats with powdered Borax and 
honey, will generally effect a cure. 

Inflammation of Kidneys. —The symptoms are pain in 
the region of the kidneys ; the back is arched and the walk stiff 
and painful, with the legs widely separated. There is a frequent 
disposition to make water, and that is highly colored and bloody. 
The appetite is impaired, and there is considerable thirst. The 
treatment should, be commenced by giving 1 ounce Poplar Bark 
and 1 teaspoonfui Pleurisy Root, both finely powdered. Make a 
decoction of the bark by stirring in boiling water; add the 
Pleurisy Root; the whole to be given in the course of 24 hours. 
The diet should consist of a mixture of flaxseed meal, boiled 
, carrots and oat meal. 

Influenza. —Sometimes a catarrh assumes an epidemic form 
and appears as the Influenza. This disease may be distinguished 
from a cold or from bronchitis by the discharge from the nos¬ 
trils being more profuse and the eyes nearly closed, great uneas¬ 
iness of the head, and a sudden prostration of strength. Half 
an ounce of Epsom Salts, with 1 drachm of Gentian, should be 
given dissolved in gruel; but if the sheep purged before, instead 
of the above give the following : Prepared Chalk 1 ounce, Cate¬ 
chu \ drachm, Opium 5 grains, Spirits of Nitrous Ether 2 
drachms, Gentian 1 drachm. Mix and give in gruel twice a day 
till the purging ceases; after which the last two ingredients, 
with a drachm of Nitre and 10 grains of Tartarized Antimony, 

, should be given in gruel once a day. 

Bloating. —Sheep sometimes take into the stomach too great 
a quantity of food when it is particularly enticing, such as the 
more succulent kinds of grass. When a sheep is first seized it 
will often be relieved by being driven gently about for an hour 
or two and put into a bare pasture. In the act of moving the 
gas will escape ; but the animal must not be galloped or driven 
by dogs, lest the stomach should be ruptured. If the above is not 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


471 


•effective, 1 gill of Castor Oil may be administered and repeated 
if necessary every few hours until the animal is relieved. Care 
should, however, be taken to avoid over-purging. 

To Protect from the Gad Fly. —In August and Septem¬ 
ber this fly lays its eggs in the nostrils of sheep, where they are 
hatched, and the worms crawl into the head, and very fre¬ 
quently they eat through to the brain. In this way many sheep 
are destroyed. As a protection their noses should be smeared 
with tar. Lay some tar in a trough or on a board, and strew 
fine salt on it—the sheep will finish the operation. The tar will 
protect them, and what they eat will promote their health. 

Catarrh. —Take a quill from a hen’s wing, immerse the 
feather end in Spirits of Turpentine, run it up the nostril of the 
sheep the whole length of the feather end, and twist it round 
before withdrawing it; wipe it off clean each time before im¬ 
mersing. One application will cure ordinary cases ; the second 
or third, at intervals of two or three days, will cure the worst. 

Discharge from the Nose. —This is an ailment that some¬ 
times attacks the whole flock. When the owner perceives symp¬ 
toms in more than one or two of his flock, he may understand 
that great danger is imminent. Increased care and proper 
-shelter will at once become necessary, followed generally by a 
change of diet where practicable. Have trees or posts bored 
with a large auger at proper distances and the holes kept 
supplied with common salt. The edges of these holes should be 
smeared with tar, and thus the sheep in the act of getting the 
salt will tar his own nose. 

Foot Rot. —The feet of sheep suffering from foot rot, should 
be treated as follows : Pare all the loose decayed horn away, then 
wet every foot of every sheep in the flock, sound or lame, thor¬ 
oughly with kerosene or coal oil, and put what Sulphur you can 
take in the thumb and finger between the hoofs of each foot. 
Keep them in a dry place for 12 hours. Repeat this operation 
in about two weeks, and you will have no more trouble. Where 
this method of individual application is not practicable on ac¬ 
count of large numbers, a trough may be partly filled with kerosene 
■oil, and the sheep, having their feet carefully pared, made to 
pass by driving through the trough. 

Another Good Remedy. —Take Lard and Venice Turpen- 


472 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

tine 4 ounces of each ; melt and add 1 ounce Blue Vitriol. Make 
into an ointment and apply to the hoofs. 

Cracked Hoof Ointment.— Tar and tallow, equal parts; 
melted together. 

Scab.—The scab of sheep, like scabies, the itch of man, is 
caused by an insect. There are various insects, known as acarus,, 
infesting different animals, with mischievous characteristics ini 
each. The sheep acarus does not bore into the skin, but remains 
on the surface clinging to the wool, and finding shelter among 
the masses of scabs produced by the drying of exudations from 
the wounds inflicted by himself. 

Treatment for Scab, —A platform should first be made 
large enough to place upon it a sheep, having a bottom made- 
tight, and over that, and about two inches fiom it, another floor 
made of slats so near each other that the sheep cannot put their 
feet between. This platform is placed on benches of convenient 
height, and a little inclined toward a large tub, so placed that 
all the fluid draining from the sheep may run into the tub. The 
tub having in it a sufficient quantity of liquid called “dip” to 
fully immerse a sheep, he is dipped in all over up to his eyes, 
and held there until every part of his skin is thoroughly wet. 
The animal is then laid on the platform and all sore places thor¬ 
oughly rubbed so that the very bottom of the sores is reached, 
the treatment being so harsh that blood sometimes follows. A 
great number of preparations have been used more or less suc¬ 
cessfully, but the following formulas will prove efficacious, there¬ 
fore only two are given, as follows : 

Tobacco Dip.— A large quantity of the stalks of tobacco- 
plants, from which the leaves have been stripped, are procured. 
These stalks are cut into convenient lengths and placed in a 
large kettle, and boiled until the water becomes black with their 
juice. A small quantity of Spirits Turpentine, generally not 
over 1 gill to 5 gallons of juice, is added. 

Carbolic Acid Dip. —This is pronounced by many to be more 
effective than the tobacco dip. It should be prepared of 1 part 
Carbolic Acid to 50 parts water. Apply as in the case of the 
tobacco dip. 

To Destroy Ticks, Flies, Lice, and all other parasites, the 
remedies described above will be found effective. 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


473 


Diarrhea, or Purging. —The full-grown sheep is almost 
as subject to purging as is the lamb, but it is not so difficult to 
be cured, nor is it so fatal. The looseness caused by feeding on 
young succulent grass seldom lasts more than a few days; but 
if it should continue longer, the sheep must be removed to infe¬ 
rior pasture, and a little hay allowed them if they can be induced 
to eat it; some dry old grain should also be put before them, 
and an astringent powder given, a single dose of which is com¬ 
posed as follows: Prepared Chalk \ ounce, Ginger £ drachm, 
Powdered Catechu i drachm, Powdered Opium 2 grains. Give, 
with a little gruel, twice a day until the purging abates. 

Loss of Appetite. —This is generally owing to a morbid 
state of the digestive organs. All that is necessary in such case 
is to restore the lost tone by the administration of bitter tonics. 
A liberal supply of Cinchona Bark tea will generally prove suffi¬ 
cient. If, however, the bowels are inactive, add to the above a 
small portion of Extract of Butternut. The food should be; 
slightly salted. 

Maggots. —Maggots originating from fly-blows on wounds,, 
may be prevented by dressing the wound daily with a composi¬ 
tion of Tar 10 parts and Carbolic Acid 1 part, well mixed and 
formed into an ointment. 


THE DOG. 

In many respects this is the most remarkable creature in the 1 
whole circle of animated nature. He is endowed with speed, 
endurance, sagacity, and acute sense and instinct. He follows 
man to every quarter of the globe, he lives in his house, feeds 
from his master’s table, or even from his hand ; enters into his 
feelings, studies his countenance, and joys or sorrows with him 
in active sympathy. He romps with him in the yard, strolls 
with him over the fields, hunts for him, fights for him, and if 
need be dies for him. The dog partakes of man’s social condi¬ 
tion ; in civilized society, he is civilized ; among savages, he is 
also a savage. Byron vividly paints his virtues in verse : 

“But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend, 

The first to welcome, foremost to defend, 

Whose honest heart is his master's own, 

Who labors, fights, lives, breathes for him alone.” 


474 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


DISEASES OF DOGS. 

If dogs have an abundance of water, are well fed, kept clean 
and dry, with plenty of exercise, they will rarely take disease, 
unless it may be by infection. Some of the more common dis¬ 
eases are here enumerated, and treatment given that will prove 
effective: 

Distemper. —This is a disease of a catarrhal nature, com¬ 
mencing with dullness, shivering, loss of appetite, hot nose, 
sunken eyes, soon followed by running from the nose and eyes 
of purulent matter. 

Treatment. —Give an emetic; 1 tablespoonful of salt dis¬ 
solved in warm water will usually produce free emesis ; follow 
this with a dose of Castor Oil. If much coughing, administer 
£ teaspoonful of the “ Cough Drops” (see page 44 of this work), 
two or three times daily. As a tonic to restore strength and 
appetite and complete the cure, give Quinine in 2-grain doses 
three times daily, with fresh beef and good nursing. 

Colic. —The dog is uneasy, and moans or howls suddenly with 
pain. Give at once £ teaspoonful of the following mixture: 
Chloroform, Laudanum and Tincture of Ginger, equal quantities 
of each, mixed, add to 1 teaspoonful of Whisky, and repeat the 
dose at intervals, if necessary. When relieved from the pain a 
dose or two of Castor Oil should be administered. 

Catarrh or Cold. —Give a tablespoonful of Castor Oil, and 
follow with Fluid Extract of Aconite 2 drops, Tincture of Gin¬ 
ger £ teaspoonful, Whisky 1 teaspoonful, hot water £ teacupful; 
mix all together and give at a dose, repeating every 3 or 4 hours. 
If cough is severe, give cough drops as described on page 44. 

Worms. —Give Santonine in 3-grain doses 3 times a day for 
2 days, then give 1 tablespoonful of Castor Oil, repeating and 
dose of oil within 6 hours. This will produce a free movement 
of the bowels, and carry off the worms that are destroyed by the 
Santonine. 

Tape Worm.— Keep the dog without food for 24 hours. 
Then have ready a strong tea made from bruised pumpkin seeds, 
1 pint steeped in a quart of water. Steep until there is less than 
1 pint of the decoction when strained. Give this at a dose, and 
within 3 hours give a tablespoonful of Castor Oil, and repeat the 


DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 475 

dose of oil every six hours until the bowels move freely, when 
the worm will pass away. The dog then may be given food. 

Constipation. —This trouble should be removed by the diet 
if possible. Give gruels, cornmeal mush, milk, and other soft 
food. Many times 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls of molasses administered 
once a day will be sufficient. If necessary, add to the molasses 
5 drops Fluid Extract of Podophylum. 

Diarrhea. —Give small and repeated doses of the Chronic 
Diarrhea Cordial. See page 233. 

Mange. —Wash frequently with Carbolic Acid soap, and give 
Quinine in 2-grain doses once a day. 

Fleas and Lice. —Wash the dog in warm water to which a 
teaspoonful of Carbolic Acid is added to each gallon, and dust 
the skin thoroughly with insect powder. 

Sore Ears. —The dog frequently shakes his head, and there 
is a fetid discharge from the ear. Wash twice a day with Car¬ 
bolic Acid soap, and apply with a feather after washing a lotion 
composed of Carbolic Acid 1 drachm, Olive Oil 2 ounces. 

Canker of the Mouth. —A bad state of the mouth with 
ulceration of the gums, and tartar on the teeth. Scale or clean 
the teeth and use a wash of Alum 1 teaspoonful, water 1 teacup¬ 
ful, and give 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls of Castor Oil each night for 
3 or 4 nights. 

Bruises. —Foment the parts with hops and vinegar for a few 
hours; after this keep constantly wet with Tincture of Arnica. 

Burns. —Dress with equal parts of Olive Oil and Lime water, 
and keep the parts covered with mutton tallow spread on cotton 
cloth. 

To Wash White Dogs. —Make a good lather of white soap 
with a little Spirits of Turpentine ; wash the dog as quickly as 
possible in this while it is warm, but not hot, taking care not to 
let the soap lather get into its eyes. Have a tub with clean, 
tepid water ready in which a little blue has been dissolved; when 
the coat is clean dip the dog into the blue-water and rinse out 
the soap. Then rub it well in a clean sheet before a fire; if 
the hair is long comb it out and brush it as it dries. The Tur¬ 
pentine will kill fleas unless the dog is much infested with them. 

Mad Dogs. —Some of the symptoms of madness in dogs are 


476 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


as follows : (1) they do not go mad suddenly; they are at first 
quiet and somewhat gloomy, and over-affectionate to their own¬ 
ers ; (2) the dog becomes fidgety and seeks out dark corners,, 
where, however, he does not lie still any length of time, but prowls- 
about sniffing and scratching ; (3) he makes sudden rushes, and 
snaps at imaginary foes, or barks at nothing; (4) the desire to* 
bite then comes on, and he first attacks and swallows stones,, 
sticks, etc.; (5) the mouth is seldom humid, a mad dog never 
foams at the mouth, but the tongue hangs out dry and darkish j, 
(6) the voice is changed, the bark is husky and jerking, at times¬ 
ending in a prolonged howl. Add to these symptoms general 
nervousness and terror and a disposition to escape and roam, 
attacking whatsoever comes in his way. Any dog showing even 
a few of these symptoms should be shut up and carefully watched* 
and as soon as it is certain he is mad, he should be killed. 


POULTRY AND BEES. 

No small degree of interest attaches to the rearing of poultry,, 
and they and their produce constitute a great and never-failing 
luxury to consumers. 

BREEDS OF BARN YARD FOWLS. 

Rather diverse views are prevalent as to the relative merits 
of different breeds. No doubt most or all of these possess some 
good characteristics peculiar to themselves. The following is a 
good classification: 

1. Temperament. —Hardy: Brahmas, Houdans, Hamburgs, 
Creve Cceurs, Spanish, and Leghorns. Delicate: La Fleche, Po¬ 
lands, and Bantams. 

2. Habits. —Domestic and quiet: Brahmas and Cochins. 
More vivacious: Spanish, Leghorns, and Dorkings. Active:: 
Hamburgs and Games. 

3. Size.— Large: Brahmas, Cochins, La Fleche, Houdans,, 
Creve Coeurs, and Dorkings. Medium: Polands, Spanish, Leg¬ 
horns, and Games. Small- Hamburgs and Sultans. Diminu¬ 
tive. Bantams and Silkies. 



POULTRY AND BEES. 


477 


4. Egg Producers. —Layers of large eggs, averaging about 
7 to a pound: La Fleche, Houdans, Creve Cceurs, and Black 
Spanish. Layers of medium eggs, averaging 8 to 9 to a pound: 
Leghorns, Cochins, Brahmas, Polands, Dorkings, Games, and 
Sultans. Layers of small eggs, averaging 9 to 10 to a pound: 
Hamburgs. Prolific layers: Hamburgs, Spanish, Leghorns, and 
Polands. 

5. Breeding Qualities. —Good sitters: Cochins, Brahmas, 
Dorkings, and Games. Non-sitters: Houdans, Creve Coeurs, La 
Eleche, Spanish, Polands, Hamburgs, and Leghorns. 

6. Valuable for Flesh.— True table-birds: La Fleche, 
Houdans, Creve Cceurs, and Dorkings. Flesh less juicy: Co¬ 
chins and Brahmas. 

7. For Eggs and Chickens which are generally equally 
■desired, from fowls usually kept on farms, the testimony pre¬ 
ponderates in favor of the Brahmas; for, in addition to being 
good flesh fowls, both as to weight and quality, they are good 
winter, and^may be considered at least fair summer, layers ; they 
.are quiet, hardy, and come early to maturity. 

Diseases. —Troublesome ‘ailments in barn-yard fowls are 
mot numerous, comparatively speaking, and, as regards many of 
them, preventive measures suggested by experience are often all 
that is required. The fowls must have ample space and access 
to water, and a fair degree of cleanliness must be observed, and 
these conditions will do a great deal in the way of prevention. 

The Pip. —This disease originates in the drinking of 
impure water, or the want of water, or by eating foul meat. One 
of these may produce derangement of the mucous membrane, 
thereby producing the “pip,” which is revealed by a thin white 
scale on the tip of the tongue, preventing the fowl from eating. 
It is relieved by taking off the scale with your nail and rubbing 
salt on the tongue, or a little black pepper, salt and butter. 

Vertigo. —Fowls affected with this disease may be ob¬ 
served to run around in a circle, or to flutter about with but 
partial control over their muscular actions. The affection is 
one evidently caused by an undue determination of blood to the 
head, and is dependent on a full-blooded state of the system. 
Holding the head under a stream of cold water is calculated 


478 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

to arrest the disease, and a dose of any aperient, such as Jalap 
or Castor Oil, will remove the tendency to the complaint. 

Catarrh, —This is occasioned by exposure to cold and 
dampness, such as a long continuance of cold, wet weather, or 
roosting in places which are open to the north or west. 

In simple cases, removal to a dry, warm situation, and a sup¬ 
ply of food rather more nutritious and stimulating than usual, 
will soon effect a cure. A little mashed boiled potato, well 
dusted with black pepper, has proven very advantageous. 

Diarrhea. —This is generally produced by a too scanty sup¬ 
ply of grain—which necessitates an excess of green food—damp¬ 
ness, undue acidity in the bowels, and unwholesome diet. The 
treatment is simple, and of course depends upon the cause. 
When the disease is brought on by eating green or soft food, the 
diet must be changed, and water given sparingly. Five grains Pow¬ 
dered Chalk, the same quantity of Rhubarb, and 1 of Cayenne 
Pepper, may be administered ; and if the relaxation is not speed¬ 
ily checked, a grain of Opium and 1 of Powdered Ipecac may 
be given every 4 or 6 hours. 

Wounds. —Wounds caused by fighting, or by accident, 
should be kept clean, and the parts washed with Spirits of Tur¬ 
pentine. Ulcers may be treated in the same way. 

Lice. —In the case of setting hens, sprinkle the nests with a 
solution of an ounce of Carbolic Acid in 4 quarts water; cut 
finely tobacco stems and place in the nest. 

For the general quarters occupied by the fowls, dissolve an 
ounce of Carbolic Acid in a bucket of water. Sprinkle thor¬ 
oughly with this as often as may seem advisable, and the prem¬ 
ises will soon become unhealthy for the lice. 

C ats Catching Chickens. —When a cat is caught in the 
act of catching chickens you can cure her effectually by tying a 
dead chicken around her neck, and making her wear it for,two 
or three days. She will never again offend in a similar way. 

Hens Eating Their Eggs.-— Hens, when kept shut up, 
are very apt to eat their eggs. The best preventive is to keep 
them well supplied with lime and gravel, and with fresh meat, 
in some form. 

Another method is to break an egg and dust the contents 
nicely with fine cayenne pepper, afterwards turning the egg 


POULTRY AND BEES. 


479 


round so as to get the pepper below the yolk, if possible, and 
leave the egg in the offender's nest; or, if caught in the act of 
eating an egg, drive her away quietly, and place pepper in the 
remainder of the egg, endeavoring, as stated before, to get the 
pepper underneath. The result will be the complete demoraliz¬ 
ation of the hen. 

Color of Eggs. —Fowls to which a portion of chalk is given 
with their food, lay eggs remarkable for the whiteness of the 
shells. By giving the hens water in which iron nails or bits of 
old iron are placed, instead of the chalk, the shells become of a 
light cinnamon color. 

To Make Hens Lay. —The best method to accomplish this 
is to feed each alternate day as follows : To 3 gallons of boiling 
water add £ ounce of common salt, a teaspoonful of cayenne 
pepper and 4 ounces of lard. Stir the mixture until the pepper 
has imparted considerable of its strength to the water. Mean¬ 
time the salt will have dissolved and the lard melted. Then, 
while yet boiling, stir in meal made of oats and corn, ground to¬ 
gether in equal parts, until a stiff mush is formed. Set away to 
cool down to a milk warmth. Before feeding, taste to see that 
you have neither an overdose of salt or pepper. In winter, on 
the days that the above mixture is omitted, give the hens fresh 
meat, chopped fine, and at all times plenty of pure water, grain, 
gravel and lime. 

Management of Fowls Generally.— The following will 
be found good rules for the management of fowls : 

1. Good dry houses, well ventilated, but avoiding drafts. 

2. Keep your hen houses clean and the floor covered with 
ashes. 

3. Whitewash inside monthly from March 1 to October 1. 

4. Feed regularly, but never over-feed ; cease feeding when 
the fowls cease to run for it. 

5. Scatter the food on the ground when the weather will 
permit. 

6. Feed mixed grain, or alternate, as corn one day, oats next, 
wheat next, etc. 

7. Allow adult fowls freedom as early in the morning as they 
desire. 

8. Keep hens with chicks in small coops (well covered and dry), 
until the chicks are three weeks old. 


480 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


9. Feed chicks morning, noon and late afternoon; cooked 
food morning, and grain, as broken corn, etc., noon and afternoon. 

10. Mix ground black pepper with the morning food for chicks 
twice a week, 1 tablespoonful of pepper for every 20 chicks. 

11. G-rease the hen well under the wings, breast, and fluff 
feathers as soon as the chicks are taken off, with ointment made 
of lard and Carbolic Acid; 10 drops of acid to 2 tablespoonfuls 
of lard. 


TURKEYS. 

The turkey is the largest and most valuable of all our poul¬ 
try. It is a native of North America. When young they are 
more difficult to rear than any other domestic fowls. For the 
first six weeks, they are very liable to injury from wet, even 
damp ground being the cause of disease, and the young chicks 
should be confined in a yard free from grass or dampness, and a 
spacious shed floored with plank should be provided, so they 
need never be exposed to the weather. When they are six weeks 
or two months old, and as soon as the red protuberances appear 
about the neck and throat, the delicacy of constitution disap¬ 
pears, and instead of requiring extra care they are soon hardier 
than any other fowl and can safely be allowed to roam freely. 

Feed for Young Turkeys.— They should be fed for the 
first month with curd made from sour milk heated, and the 
whey turned off, seasoned with black pepper, and mixed with 
coarse ground corn meal, and occasionally hard boiled eggs 
chopped fine will be beneficial. As soon as they can swallow 
whole grain give them that, then all trouble in that direction is 
at an end. 

Parasites. —No one thing destroys as many young turkeys 
as these. When the mother leaves the nest, wash the naked 
parts of her body thoroughly with a strong decoction of tobacco; 
at the same time sprinkle the coops and ground with Carbolic 
Acid 1 part to water 50 parts, and dust the young turkeys with 
insect powder. 

These rules must be observed, if those who attempt to raise 
turkeys would secure success : 

1. Be sure to free both old and young from lice immediately 
upon the old one’s leaving the nest. 


POULTRY AND BEES. 481 

2. Feed frequently; every hour or so during the day, with 
strengthening food. 

3. Never let the young turkeys get wet, either with dew or 
rain, until their feathers afford their bodies, if not complete at 
least partial protection. 

BEES. 

To say nothing of honey as a luxury, it is highly esteemed for 
•certain medicinal properties, and its production should be pro¬ 
moted and encouraged. 

The best period for commencing the establishment of an 
apiary is about February or March, as the stocks have then 
passed through the winter ; the combs are empty of broods and 
light of honey, and may be removed to advantage. Stocks 
should be selected by a competent judge, as the weight alone 
cannot always be relied on; such as weigh 12 pounds and 
upwards, the number of bees and their position being also taken 
into the account, may be safely chosen. As soon as they are 
brought home they should be set in the bee-house, care being 
taken to keep them dry and free from the attacks of vermin. 
The best time for removing stocks is in the evening. Swarms 
should be brought home the same evening they are purchased, 
for if there should be much delay the combs may be broken or 
other damage sustained. 

It would be well to commence on a moderate scale. Two or 
three, or perhaps four hives, are as many as it would be safe in 
a majority of cases to commence operations with. It is best to 
choose hives under five years old, and that are strong in bees; 
by rapping smartly on a hive early in the morning, or any 
time in a cold day, a pretty good idea may be formed as to its 
strength : if there is a vigorous buzzing in answer to the raps, 
it is probably well stocked, and vice versa . They can be taken 
home any cold day by shutting them in the hive. The best 
method of making the change is to bring the movable bee¬ 
hive into requisition. If the ordinary kind are to be used, 
twelve inches square by fourteen inches in height is a good size. 

The Heads of the Family. —The drones and queens have 
to be relied on to propagate the stock, and neither of them ever 
goes out to gather honey. It is the old story of mutual depen¬ 
dence. Neither the drones, queens or workers could live with¬ 
out each other. 


482 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


Depositing the Egg. —Young broods may usually be found 
in the hive in different stages of development. The queen- 
examines each cell by thrusting in her head to see if it contains 
bee bread or honey, as she never uses a cell partly filled. If the- 
cell is clear, she immediately deposits her egg. 

Hatching. —The egg remains unchanged for three or four 
days. They are then hatched, the bottom of each cell contain¬ 
ing a small white worm, which floats in a whitish fluid deposited 
by the nursing bees. This [gradually enlarges until its extremi¬ 
ties meet, forming a ring. It continues to increase during five 
or six days until it fills nearly all the room in the cell. The 
nursing bees now seal over the cell with a light brown cover. 
As soon as the larvae is perfectly enclosed, it begins to line the 
cell by spinning around itself a silky cocoon. When this is fin¬ 
ished it undergoes a great change, from the 'grub to the nymph 
or pupa state, showing no vestige of its chrysalis condition. 

The Italian Variety. —This variety is very generally con¬ 
sidered superior to any other kind. They seem to combine 
almost every good point. They are early workers, keen-scented, 
always vigorous and energetic, and the queens are remarkably 
prolific. 

Losing the Queen. —Three weeks are required for supply¬ 
ing a colony with a queen when lost. She is frequently lost 
when she goes out for the purpose of being impregnated, in 
which case it becomes necessary for the owner to repair the loss. 
The best way to introduce a new queen is to cover her with 
honey water. 

Rearing Italian Queens. —There are a number of differ¬ 
ent ways of rearing queens. A good method is to bring into 
requisition a small hive, or nucleus, as it is termed. It is made 
about six or eight inches long, five inches wide and six inches 
deep, inside measure, and containing three miniature comb 
frames. If the apiary consists of Italians, and all the bees are 
also of that variety for the extent of three miles around, there 
will be little difficulty in obtaining purely fertilized queens; but 
if such is not the case some of the following methods will have 
to be adopted ; either the rearing of drones early in the spring 
before the black drones make their appearance, or late in the 
season, after they have been destroyed ; otherwise the manner of 


POULTRY AND BEES. 


48? 


double working them will have to be resorted to. If the apiary 
is large, the last named method is usually the best. 

The method of double work simply consists ot raising all the 
queens you may desire for the whole apiary from a queen of un¬ 
doubted purity, and let the young queens mate as they will, with 
black or Italian drones. The received theory is that the drones 
of the young queens will be pure, while the workers of a queen 
fertilized by the black drone will be hybrids. According to 
their theory it is evident that the drones the following spring 
will be Italian, making it only necessary to go on and raise 
another set of queens from the same old one, or, what would be 
better, from a new queen of another apiary, which would pro¬ 
duce a cross and prevent in-and-in breeding. If any of the 
queens of the second year’s growth do not produce workers of 
undoubted purity, namely, those marked with three distinct 
bands on the abdomen, she should be replaced by another. As 
the culminating period approaches, the nucleus should be stocked 
with combs in the frames, together with a little honey, about 
one frame full, in order that the bees may concentrate their 
labors on the queen cells. To insure success it is also necessary 
to have some brood in the nucleus to retain the bees and keep 
them on the increase. The brood should be over seven days old 
from the time the egg was deposited, so that the bees will not 
construct queen cells from a brood that is not desirable to have 
used. To procure the bees and comb it is best to obtain the hive 
from a distance of two or three miles. Drive out the bees into 
a box, as in transferring, search out the queen, divide the combs, 
and place them into the nucleus; then put into each nucleus at 
least 1 quart of bees without a queen. A good swarm in May 
will furnish enough for about five nuclei, while in June enough 
may be obtained for ten. 

Feed for Bees. —Every stock should be examined as to its 
supply of food during seasons when they do not work. Should 
any one be in want of food, it should be supplied. If in a box 
or gum hive, thin pieces of white sugar candy can be slightly 
pushed between the combs through an opening in the top. Honey 
or good sugar syrup can be given by means of a saturated sponge 
or comb, filled with honey, placed at the opening on top, being 
careful to cover with a box, to keep out strange bees. In mov¬ 
able frame-hives, frames of honey from other hives having it to 


484 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


spare, are most convenient, and any required quantity can be 
given to the various feeders through the honey board. This 
feeding should be kept up, or food enough should be given for 
the bees and their brood until honey can be gathered from for¬ 
age outside. 

Another good feed for bees is unbolted flour, or, what is bet¬ 
ter, rye meal, which supplies the want of pollen (bee bread) for 
the larvae brood of the hive. This is given on a server, or wide 
plank having strips nailed on the edges to prevent waste, and 
should be placed in or near the apiary, out of the wind, and in 
the sun as much as possible. Should the bees be tardy in find¬ 
ing the meal, put a piece of empty comb on it, or a few drops 
of honey on the plank. 

To Take Honey Without Destroying the Bees.— 

In the dusk of the evening, approach the hive and turn it gen¬ 
tly over. Having steadily placed it in a small pit, previously dug 
to receive it, with its bottom upward, cover with a clean, new 
hive, which has been properly prepared, with a few sticks across 
the inside of it, and rubbed with aromatic herbs. Having care¬ 
fully adjusted the mouth of each hive to the other, so that no 
aperture remains between them, take a small stick and beat gen¬ 
tly around the sides of the lower hive for about ten minutes or a 
quarter of an hour, in which time the bees will leave their cells 
in the lower hive, ascend and adhere to the upper one. Then 
gently lift the new hive, with all its little tenants, and place it 
on the stand from which the other was taken. This should be 
done some time in the week preceding midsummer-day, that the 
bees may have time before the summer flowers have faded to lay 
in a new stock of honey, which they will not fail to do for their 
subsistence through winter. 

Hiving. —The hive should be in perfect readiness and occu¬ 
py a cool place. Shade, not too dense, is important, for if the 
bees do not like their new residence they will leave. It is of de¬ 
cided importance that all should be made to enter, otherwise 
those not included may comprise a queen. Place upon the 
ground, under the swarm cluster, the hive, with a large piece of 
board just in front of it, upon which the bees can be poured. 
If a box hive is used, one side should be raised one inch by plac¬ 
ing under the front two sticks or blocks to hold it up from the 


POULTRY AND BEES. 


4S? 

bottom board. If on a movable comb hive, raise the front, if on 
a movable bottom board, if not, open the entrance as wide as 
possible. If the swarm has clustered on a small branch, it may¬ 
be cut off, if the tree is not too valuable, brought down, and the 
bees shaken off in front of the hive. If any large number lin¬ 
ger around the entrance, their progress may be expedited by 
gently disturbing them with a small twig. If gentle means do 
not prove effectual within a reasonable time, a little water may 
be sprinkled upon them to accelerate their movements, but this; 
must be used sparingly, for if they become very wet they may 
not be disposed to move at all. If it is not desired to cut the 
limb upon which they cluster, they may be shaken into a bas¬ 
ket. In this case it is well to sprinkle the mass with cold wa¬ 
ter, which will cause them to cluster more closely. If the bees 
are nearly all secured through the fi^st effort, shaking the limb 
will naturally have the effect to cause those tarrying behind to 
rejoin their companions. 

Water. —Beeo should always be supplied with water for 
drinking, so arranged that they will be in no danger from drown¬ 
ing. 

Enemies. —There are quite a number of enemies of the bees 
to contend with, the worst being the bee-moth. To satisfacto¬ 
rily apply remedial measures will generally require’all the resources 
of ingenuity and experience. In a common box hive, a good 
way to entrap the worms after they are once in the hive, is ta 
raise the front upon two small wooden blocks, and to put a piece 
of woolen rag between the bottom board and the back of the 
hive. The worms find a cozy place under the rag, in which they 
form their cocoons, and may there be found and killed, from 
time to time. Much can be done in the way of prevention, by 
killing every morning the moths which may be found on the 
outside of the hive. 

To Destroy the Bee Moth or Miller. —Take two white 
dishes (because white attracts their attention in the night) or 
plates, and place them on the top of the hives, and fill them 
about half full of sweetened vinegar. 


486 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


TALUABLE FARM RECIPES. 

For Drying Meat. —Cut the flesh into slices from 2 to 6 
ounces in weight, immerse a small portion at a time in boiling 
water for 5 or 6 minutes, using only just water enough to cover 
the meat, and adding fresh water only to keep the liquor up to 
its original quantity. Lay the meat to dry on open trellis-work 
in a drying stove, keeping the temperature at about 122° Fahr¬ 
enheit. In about two days the meat will be completely dry, 
having lost about two-thirds its weight. Add a little salt and 
spice, especially coriander, to the liquor or soup in which the 
meat was immersed, and then evaporate it to a gelatinous con¬ 
sistence. When the flesh is perfectly dry, dip it, piece by piece, 
in the gelatinous matter liquefied by a gentle heat, and replace 
it in the stove to dry, repeating this varnishing and drying two 
or three times, so as to get the coating uniformly thick. Meat 
thus dried will keep good for a year. 

Smoking Meat. —This process consists in exposing meat, 
previously salted, to wood-smoke, in an apartment (usually called 
a smoke-house), into which the smoke is admitted by flues at 
the bottom of the side walls. The meat absorbs the pyroligne¬ 
ous acid of the smoke, and gets dried at the same time. It may 
be protected from soot by rubbing over with bran, or wrapping 
in a cloth. The smoke from corn cobs is preferable; and the 
smoking is better slow and gentle than rapid and powerful; the 
latter plan being too often adopted from motives of economy. 
Hams thus prepared, as is often the case, are ham merely on the 
surface, and corned pork inside. This process is sometimes im¬ 
itated by immersing the meat for a few hours in diluted pyro¬ 
ligneous acid, but it is apt to harden or toughen the meat. 

Coloring Pickle for Meat. —Mix brown sugar, bay salt, 
-common salt, each 2 pounds, saltpetre 8 ounces, water 2 gallons; 
this pickle gives meat a fine red color, while the sugar renders 
it mild and of excellent flavor. Large quantities may be man¬ 
aged by the above proportions. 

Pickling Hams. —Cover the bottom of the cask with coarse 
■salt, lay on the hams with the smooth or skin side down, sprinkle 


FARM RECIPES. 


487 


-over fine salt, then another layer of hams, and so continue until 
the cask is full. The cask ought to be of the larger kind. One 
holding 64 gallons is small enough, and it would be better if it 
held 120 gallons. Make a brine in the following proportions : 
Six gallons water, 9 pounds salt, 4 pounds brown sugar, 3 ounces 
saltpetre, 1 ounce saleratus. Scald and skim, and when cold 
pour the brine into the cask until the hams are completely cov¬ 
ered. The hams should remain in this pickle at least 3 months, 
and a little longer time would do them no harm. A handful 
each of mace and cloves scattered in the brine will greatly im¬ 
prove the flavor of the meat. 

Pickling Beef and Pork. —To each gallon of water add Im¬ 
pounds salt, m pound sugar, ^ ounce saltpetre, and £ ounce pot¬ 
ash. Let these be boiled together until all the dirt from the 
sugar rises to the top and is skimmed off. Then throw it into a 
tub to cool, and when cold, pour it over the beef or pork, to re¬ 
main the usual time, say 4 or 5 weeks. The meat must be well 
covered with pickle, and should not be put down for at least two 
days after killing, during which time it should be slightly 
sprinkled with powdered saltpetre, which removes all the surface 
blood, etc., leaving the meat fresh and clean. Some omit boil¬ 
ing the pickle, and find it to answer well, though the operation 
of boiling purifies the pickle by throwing off the dirt always to 
be found in salt and sugar. Ham cured in this manner may be 
smoked as usual, and will be found excellent. This recipe has 
been tried with complete satisfaction. 

Pickle for Hams, Pork, Etc. —Brown sugar, rock salt, 
common salt, of each 2 pounds, saltpetre pound, water 1 gal¬ 
lon. Boil gently and remove the scum. Another meat pickle 
is made with 12 pounds salt, 2 pounds sugar or molasses, -J- 
pound nitre, and sufficient water to dissolve it. To cure hams, 
mix 5 ounces nitre with 8 ounces coarse sugar; rub it on the 
ham, and in 24 hours rub in 2 pounds salt, and in 2 weeks 2 
pounds more. The above is for a ham of 20 pounds ; it should 
lie in the salt 4 or 5 weeks. 

How to Preserve Hams. —Pyroligneous acid, spread upon 
smoked hams, preserves them from insects equal to canvass. 
With a painter's brush, dipped in the liquid, one man, in the 
•course of a day, may effectually secure two hundred hams from 


488 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

all danger. Care should be taken to insinuate the liquid into 
all the cracks, etc., of the under surface. This method is espe¬ 
cially adapted to the preservation of hams in hot climates. 

To Make Beeswax. —Put the honeycomb in a sack of thin, 
firm cloth, place in water and boil. The wax will soon come to 
the top of the water. When cold, take it off and fry until 
the water is all out, turning into a basin to mould. When 
cold it will turn out easily. Wet the basin in cold water before 
using. 

To Prevent Cattle from Barking Trees. —Take 2 parts 
cowdung and 1 part lime ; mix with a little water, to the con¬ 
sistence of thick lime-wash, and lay this on the trunks of the 
trees as far as the cattle can reach. 

To Stop Gumming in Fruit Trees. —The place where 
the gum accumulates should be well washed and cleaned, and 
then stopped well up with a paste made of ordinary hard soap, 
Sulphur and Tar. This will prevent the accumulation of the 
gum, and will assist the wound in healing over. 

Moss on Fruit Trees, —Every year fruit trees should 
be well scrubbed with a scrubbing brush dipped in a strong 
solution of soft soap and Sulphur, so as to moisten every 
part of the bark of the stem and branches. This not only 
destroys the moss, but insects of all kinds, and is beneficial to all 
trees, whereas applications of lime choke up the respiratory 
pores, and sometimes produce canker. 

To Protect Fruit Trees from Mice, Etc. —Tar 1 part. 
Tallow 3 parts ; mix. Apply hot to the bark of the tree with 
a paint brush. 

To Kill Docks, Dandelions, Etc. —Cut the tops off in 
the spring or summer time, and pour some kerosene, or sprinkle 
some salt on the wound. Either of these will kill the root, by 
eating to the very extremity. 

To Destroy Thistles. —Cut close to the ground with a 
sharp hoe, and apply a few drops of kerosene. The plant so 
treated will never appear again. 

To Destroy Weeds in Garden Walks. —A weak 
solution of Carbolic Acid applied with a watering-pot to 
garden walks will be an effectual mode of preventing the 


FARM RECIPES. 


489 


growth of weeds. The solution should not he stronger than 1 
part pure Carbolic Acid to 50 to 100 parts water. Pure Car¬ 
bolic Acid is a virulent poison. When applied in too strong a 
solution, larger plants will suffer; very weak solutions destroy only 
very small plants and animals, as parasites, miasma, etc. Even 
flies and mosquitoes avoid its odor and may be driven away by it. 

To Exterminate Noxious Weeds in Gravel Walks. 
—Sow coarse salt upon the plants; the thistles should be 
first cut to the ground, and the fresh roots be covered with the 
salt. The refuse article from the beef, pork, or salt fish barrel 
is quite good enough, and may be employed for this purpose. 

To Kill Striped Bugs on Cucumber Plants.— 
Syringe with tobacco water, and a little Sulphur added, or with 
a decoction of Elder leaves ; either of these repeated a few times 
will suffice ; or the infested parts may be dusted over with Flow¬ 
er of Sulphur. 

To Test Squash and other Seed.— When the fruit 
is first cut, the seed should be put into a bowl of water, and 
that which swims on the surface is worthless ; the good will sink 
to the bottom. This can only be depended upon at the time the 
fruit is first cut; if the seed has been dried and kept for any 
length of time, it will probably all swim, though it has not lost 
its vegetating properties. 

Valuable Wash for Onions. —Make some strong lime 
water, add to it as much soot as will, make it into a thin 
paint, and water the crop with it the moment the maggot ap¬ 
pears. This soot mixture is so stimulating a manure that it 
should always be used to increase the weight of the crop. House- 
slops mixed with lime and soot would be still more powerful, 
both to destroy maggot and improve the plant; but unless rain 
followed immediately, it would be advisable to drench the ground 
with pure water the day after application. Ground intended for 
a crop of large onions should be prepared in the autumn, and 
after being dug over, should be watered with a mixture of Sul¬ 
phuric Acid and water, made so strong as to burn the tongue. 
This will destroy every animal in the soil, and the winter rains 
will wash it away entirely before spring. 

Compound Wash for Hoses.— A bushel of unslacked 
lime m powder, $ pound Sulphur also in powder; mix these 

A 1 


490 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

well while dry, then add water to make it about as thick as 
molasses, and boil for 1 hour; then add just enough soot, 
moistened to the same consistence, to darken the color; lay 
this on with a brush all over. 

For Wagon Axles.—Tallow 8 pounds. Palm Oil 10 pounds. 
Plumbago 1 pound; well mixed make a good lubrication for 
wagon axles. 

Patent Lubricator. —Grind together Black Lead with 
four times its weight of lard or tallow. This is used to lessen 
friction in machinery, and to prevent iron rusting. It was once 
a patent article. Camphor is sometimes added, 7 pounds to 100 
pounds. 

Cheap Paint for Fences, Etc. —Take a bushel of well- 
burnt lime, white and unslacked; 20 pounds of Spanish whit¬ 
ing, 17 pounds of rock salt, and 12 pounds of brown sugar. 
Slake the lime and sift out any coarse lumps and mix it into a 
good whitewash with about 40 gallons of water, and then add 
the other ingredients, and stir the whole together thoroughly. 
Three coats are needed on brick and two on wood. 

To give the paint a cream color, add to the above proportions 
3 pounds Yellow Ochre. For a brown color, add 4 pounds of 
Umber, 1 of Indian Red, and 1 of Lampblack. For a gray or 
stone color, add 4 pounds of Raw Umber and 2 of Lampblack. 
Paint with a common paint brush. 

To Make a Corn Crib. —To construct a rat-proof corn 
crib the floor should be about three feet from the ground. As 
the first preliminary, let the corner posts be eight inches square, 
and frame the sills supporting the floor into posts distant two 
feet* from the lower end. Before putting together, taper the 
lower ends of the posts for the distance of two feet, so that at 
the base the posts shall be only four inches square. When the 
frame is set up let the posts also stand upon tapered rocks. Lay 
the joists or sleepers on the sills and put on the flooring, which 
of course must be tight. With the door properly made and 
kept shut, ther3 will be no way in which the rats can have access 
to the crib. 

To Measure Corn in Bulk.— Corn is generally put up 
in cribs made of poles, but the rule will apply to a crib of any 
size or kind. Two cubic teet ot good, sound, dry corn m the 


FAEM EECIPES. 


491 


ear, will make a bushel of shelled corn. To get, then, the quan¬ 
tity of shelled corn in a crib of corn in the ear, measure the 
length, breadth, and height of the inside of the crib; mul¬ 
tiply the length by the breadth, and the product by the height; 
then divide the result by 2, and you have the number of bushels 
of shelled corn in the crib. In measuring the height, of course 
the height of the corn is intended. And there will be found to 
be a difference in measuring corn in this mode between fall and 
spring, because it shrinks very much in the winter and spring, 
and settles down. 

To Measure Grain in the Bin. —By the United States 
standard, 2,150 cubic inches make a bushel; a cubic foot con¬ 
tains 1,728 cubic inches. Rule—Multiply the number of feet 
wide of bin by the length, the result by the depth, then divide 
the product by 5 and multiply the quotient by 4, which number 
will give the quantity in bushels. 

To Find the Weight of Cattle.— Measure in inches 
the girth round the breast, just behind the shoulder blade, and 
the length of the back from the tail to the forepart of the shoul¬ 
der blade. Multiply the girth by the length, and divide by 144. 
If the girth is less than 3 feet, multiply the quotient by 11; if 
between 3 and 5 feet, multiply by 16 ; if between 5 feet and 7 feet, 
multiply by 23 ; if between 7 feet and 9 feet, multiply by 31. 
If the animal is lean, deduct iu from the result. Or : Take the 
girth and length in feet, multiply the square of the girth by the 
length, and multiply the product by 3.36. The result will be 
the answer in pounds. The live weight, multiplied by .605, 
gives a near approximation to the net weight. 




492 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


CIDER, WINE AND OTHER BEVERAGES. 

The manufacture of cider and domestic wines certainly de- 
serves to be classed under the head of Productive Industry. 
Associated with them also is the production of light beers and 
other beverages especially designed for domestic use and for the 
use and refreshment of men employed in the more laborious oc¬ 
cupations, particularly of the farm. The manufacture of the 
beverages of commerce is not considered in this classification, as 
it holds a position in the body politic peculiar to itself ; although 
as properly connected with the subject of Traffic, which is em¬ 
braced in this general division, some directions may be found 
herein that will be of service to those whose business it is to 
compound and sell beverages. 

THE MANUFACTURE OF CIDER. 

Always choose perfectly ripe and sound fruit for making 
cider. 

Pick the apples from the tree by hand. Apples that have been 
on the ground any length of time contract an earthy flavor, 
which will always be found in the cider. 

After sweating, and. oefore being ground, wipe them dry, and 
if any are found bruised or rotten, put them in a heap by them¬ 
selves, from which to make an inferior cider for vinegar. 

As fast as the apples are ground, the pomace should be placed 
in a previously prepared open vat, of suitable size, and with a 
false bottom, strainer, or clean straw about it. Let the pomace 
remain about one day, then pour the cider that has drained from 
it back upon the “cheese,” and continue to do so until it runs 
clear. Let the juice percolate or filter for one or more days. 
The cider thus extracted will compare closely with any clear, 
rich syrup, and may be drank, or used for many purposes, as a 
choice and superior article. In this way, about one-third of the 
cider will separate ; the balance may then be expressed by the 
use of the press. 

To press out the juice, use a clean strainer cloth inside the 




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CIDER AND OTHER BEVERAGES. 493 

curb, with some clean straw intermixed in thin layers with the 
pomace, and apply the power moderately. 

As the cider runs from the vat or press, place it in a clean, 
sweet cask or open tub, which should be closely watched, and as 
socn as the little bubbles commence to rise at the bung-hole or 
top, it should be racked off by a spigot or faucet placed about two 
inches from the bottom, so that the lees or sediment may be left 
quietly behind. 

To Make Good Fermented Cider. —To make good fer¬ 
mented cider that will keep a year or more without turning too* 
sour to be used for anything but vinegar, is not a difficult mat¬ 
ter. The first thing is to exclude all decayed fruit, but it should 
be quite ripe. Not a drop of water should be used in the pro¬ 
cess of manufacture. The sweeter the juice, the stronger the 
cider, and the better it will keep. Put the barrel immediately 
in a cool cellar—the cooler the better. The fermentation may 
gc on slowly or rapidly, practice differing in this respect. In 
the former case the liquid is treated in all respects like wine. 
The cask has a bung in which is fixed, air-tight, a tin tube bent 
at right angles, or a piece of India-rubber tube. The free end 
of the tube in either case dips into a vessel of water. This ar¬ 
rangement allows the gases liberated in fermentation to pass out, 
and the end of the tube being covered with water, air cannot 
pass in. The bubbling of the gas through the water shows how 
the fermentation is progressing. When this has ceased, the 
cider is racked off into clean casks, which are to be full and 
bunged tightly. Much of the excellence of cider depends upon 
the temperature at which the fermentation is conducted; a point 
utterly overlooked by the manufacturers of this liquor. Instead 
of the apple juice, as soon as it is expressed from the fruit, being 
placed in a cool situation, where the temperature should not ex¬ 
ceed 50° or 52° Fahrenheit, it is frequently left exposed to the 
full heat of autumn. In this way much of the alcohol formed 
by the decomposition of the sugar is converted into vinegar, by 
the absorption of atmospheric oxygen, and thus the liquor ac¬ 
quires that peculiar and unwholesome acidity known as “ hard¬ 
ness” or “roughness.” When, on the contrary, the fermenta¬ 
tion is conducted at a low temperature, nearly the whole of the 
sugar is converted into alcohol, and this remains in the liquor. 


494 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


To Cleanse Cider Barrels.— Put 2 or 3 gallons of strong 
lime water in the barrel, and 2 or 3 quarts of small pebbles from 
which all earth and grit have been washed. Then close the 
bung and shake and roll the barrel till all the mould or pomice 
is scoured off. The pebbles will easily roll out of the bung by 
holding and tipping the barrel in the right position. A small 
iron chain may be used instead of the pebbles, first fastening to 
it a strong cord so that it may be drawn out. After emptying 
the barrel, rinse it well with hot water; then empty out the water, 
and put in a little whisky, slowly turning the barrel so that the 
whisky will touch every part; then pour out what whisky 
remains. 

To Prepare Casks for Cider. —Cider should never be 
put into new casks without previously scalding them with water 
containing salt, or with water in which pomace has been boiled. 
Beer casks should never be used for cider, or cider casks for beer. 
Wine and brandy casks will keep cider well, if the tartar adher¬ 
ing to their sides is first carefully scraped off and the casks be 
well scalded. Burning a little sulphur in a cask will effectually 
remove must. 

To Preserve Cider. —Cider made in cold weather and kept 
near the freezing point, will remain sweet a long time. Other¬ 
wise it undergoes fermentation, usually during the first three or 
four days, and if this is not arrested it soon becomes sour, or 
what is known as “ hard” cider. The presence of pomace in the 
cider aids fermentation, and gives to it a bitter, acrid taste. 
Some persons prefer cider entirely sweet, though it is usually 
considered best when it is a little “ worked/'* 

Those who prefer sweet cider resort to various methods for 
arresting fermentation, such as putting a handful of powdered 
clay into each barrel, or 2 or 3 pounds of well burned charcoal. 
Others add a little mustard seed, about a gill of seed to each 
barrel. 

To Stop Fermentation at a Given Point. —When the 
cider in a barrel is in a lively fermentation, add as much white 
sugar as will be equal to £ or f pound to each gallon of cider 
(according as the apples are sweet or sour), let the fermentation 
proceed until the liquid has the taste to suit, then add i ounce of 
sulphite (not sulphate) of lime to each gallon cf cider; shake 


CIDER AND OTHER BEVERAGES. 


495 


well, and let it stand 3 days, and bottle for use. The sulphite 
should first be dissolved in a quart or so of cider before intro¬ 
ducing it into the barrel of cider. Agitate briskly and thor¬ 
oughly for a few moments, and then let the cider settle. The 
fermentation will cease at once. When, after a few days, the 
cider has become clear, draw off and bottle carefully, or remove 
the sediment and return to the original vessel. If loosely corked, 
or kept in a barrel on draught, it will retain its taste as a still 
cider. If preserved in bottles carefully corked, which is better, 
it will become a sparkling cider, and may be kept indefinitely long. 

A Simple Method. —Allow the cider to work until it has 
reached the state most desirable to the taste, then add 1£ tum¬ 
blers grated horseradish to each barrel, and shake up well. 
This arrests further fermentation. After remaining a few 
weeks, rack off and bung up closely in clean casks. 

Another Method. —Mix 1 pint of hardwood ashes (hick¬ 
ory is best) and 1 pint fresh slacked lime with 1 quart of new 
milk; this mixture is to be stirred into each open barrel of 
cider ; after remaining quiet for about 10 hours the pomace will 
rise to the surface, and may be skimmed off; the clear cider 
can be drawn off by means of a faucet inserted near the bottom 
of the barrel; it is advisable to strain it as it is drawn off, to 
separate any hardened pomace that may remain in it. 

Racking Off. —Drawing cider from a cask for the purpose 
of freeing it from the sediment that has settled, is called “rack¬ 
ing off.” Whatever method be adopted, the cider must be 
drawn off into very clean, sweet casks, and closely watched. The 
moment white bubbles are perceived rising at the bung-hole, 
rack it again. When the fermentation is completely at an end, 
fill up the cask with cider in all respects like that already con¬ 
tained in it, and bung it up tight. New cider should be racked 
off in from one to four days after fermentation begins, according 
as the fermentation is slow or rapid. Twice racking is usually 
enough, allowing time for the sediment to settle between the 
operations, but the process should be repeated as long as there is 
evidence of fermentation. In racking off the liquor, it is neces¬ 
sary to keep it free from sediment, and the scum or yeast pro¬ 
duced by the fermentation. 

Sweet Oil as a Sealer. —A necessary thing to do to pre¬ 
vent fermentation is to exclude the air from the liquid. This is 


496 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


fully accomplished for bottling. But for casks the most perfect 
thing is the addition of a tumblerful of sweet oil. The oil 
spreads itself over the surface, completely excluding the air. 
The cider being drawn from the bottom, the oil will not flow 
until the cider is all drawn ofl, or nearly so. 

DOMESTIC WINES. 

Blackberry Wine, —Mash the berries, and pour 1 quart of 
boiling water upon each gallon ; let the mixture stand 24 hours, 
stirring occasionally ; then strain and measure into a keg, add¬ 
ing 2 pounds of sugar, and good rye whisky 1 pint, or best al¬ 
cohol % pint to each gallon. Cork tight, and let stand several 
months. 

Blackberry Brandy. —To \ gallon of blackberry juice put 
l-§- pounds of lump sugar, ■§• ounce of cinnamon, -J ounce of 
grated nutmeg, J ounce of cloves, and 1 ounce of allspice. 
Boil a few minutes, and when cool, add 1 pint of brandy. This 
is an invaluable remedy for diarrhea. 

Cherry Brandy, —Cherries 36 pounds, half red and half 
black ; squeeze them with the hands, and add 1-J- gallons of 
brandy. Let them infuse 24 hours ; then put the bruised cher¬ 
ries and liquor into a canvas bag, a little at a time, and press as 
long as it will run. Sweeten with fine sugar, and let stand a 
month ; bottle off, putting loaf sugar into every bottle. 

Apple Wine. —Pure cider made from sound, dry apples, as 
it runs from the press. Put 60 pounds of brown sugar into 15 
gallons of the cider and let it dissolve, then put the mixture into 
a clean barrel and fill the barrel up to within 2 gallons of being 
full with clean cider ; put the cask in a cool place, leaving the 
bung out 48 hours, then put in the bung with a small vent, 
until fermentation wholly ceases, and bung up tight, and, in one 
year the wine will be fit for use. This wine requires no racking ; 
the longer it stands upon the lees the better. 

Cherry Wine. —Pick and press out the juice of good cher¬ 
ries, White or Black Hearts, or May Dukes, without breaking 
the stones. (This wine is much improved by adding rasps and 
red currants; an addition of black currants causes it to resem¬ 
ble port.) To every gallon put 2 pounds of fine loaf sugar. 
Put in a cask till the fermentation ceases; stop it close. In 


CIDER AND OTHER BEVERAGES. 497 

three or four months bottle, and in five or six weeks it will be fit 
to drink. 

Grape Champagne. —Gather the grapes when they are 
just turning, or about half ripe. Pound them in a tub, and to 
every quart of fruit put 2 quarts of water. Let stand in a mash- 
tub 14 days, then draw off, and to every gallon of liquor add 3 
pounds of lump sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, cask it, 
and, after it is done working, bung it down. In about six 
months it will be fit to drink, when it should be bottled, and the 
corks tied down, or wired if it is to be kept more than a year. 

Mulled Cider. —Boil 1 quart of cider, watered, if too strong, 
with cloves and allspice. Beat 6 eggs, sweeten, and add them 
to the boiling cider, with 1 pint or more of cream. Pour the 
liquor from one pitcher to another till it has a fine froth, and 
serve it warm. 

Cherry Bounce. —Take 4 pounds of sour cherries, and the 
same quantity of sweet cherries, and crush to pieces by pounding 
in a deep wooden vessel with a small billet of wood. Beat hard 
enough to crack all the stones. Place in a deep stone jar, mix well 
with 21 pounds of sugar, and cover with 1 gallon of best whisky. 
Shake well and turn into a demijohn. Cork tightly and let it 
stand a month, shaking it every day, and another month with¬ 
out touching it. Then strain off and bottle. It is better a year 
than six months old. 

Currant Wine. —Gather the currants when ripe, strip 
them, and squeeze out the juice; to 1 gallon of the juice put 2 
gallons of cold water and 2 spoonfuls of yeast; let it ferment 2 
days ; strain through a hair sieve ; and to every gallon of liquor 
add [3 pounds of loaf sugar; stir well together; put in a good 
cask ; to every 10 gallons of wine put 1 quart of brandy ; close 
well up and let stand 4 months, then bottle; a few raspber¬ 
ries will improve the flavor. 

Bhubarb Wine. —To each gallon of rhubarb juice, add 1 
gallon of soft water in which 7 pounds of brown sugar have been 
dissolved: fill a keg or a barrel with this proportion, leaving the 
bung out, and keep it filled with sweetened water as it works 
over, until clear ; then bung down or bottle as you desire. 

Tomato Wine. —Express the juice from clean, ripe toma¬ 
toes, and to each gallon (without any water) put brown sugar. 


498 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

4 pounds. Put in the sugar immediately, or before fermentation 
begins—this ought to be done in making any fruit wine. Some¬ 
thing of the character of a cheese-press, hoop and cloth, is the 
best plan to squeeze out the juice of tomatoes or other fruits. 
Let the wine stand in a keg or barrel for two or three months 
then draw off into bottles, carefully avoiding the sediment. 

HOME BREWED BEYERAGES. 

Bragget or Metheglin. —To 28 pounds of honey add 8£ 
gallons of boiling water; mix thoroughly Boil in i gallon 
of water the peel of 3 lemons, 1 ounce of ginger, 2 drachms 
of mace, 1 drachm of cloves, and a small bundle of rosemary;, 
strain, and add immediately to the hot mixture ; stir the whole 
together, and set aside in a cask till quite cold. Mix 2 large 
spoonfuls of fresh yeast with a quart of the liquor; pour into the 
cask, and allow it to remain till the fermentation has taken place, 
when the cask is to be bunged up. To obtain metheglin in per¬ 
fection, it should remain a year in the wood untouched. It is 
then to be bottled, and kept for at least six months before being 
used. 

Malt and Hop Beer. —Take £ bushel of malt, ground fine, 
6 ounces of hops, and 20 gallons of water. Boil all together 
for one hour ; strain through a sieve, and add 1 gallon of 
molasses. Set it away to cool, and when milk warm turn into 
it \ pint of brewers’ yeast or 1 pint of home made yeast, 
stir it in well, and let it work 12 hours before bottling. If put 
into a keg to work, bung it up tightly shortly after it begins to 
ferment, and in three days it will be ready for use. 

Spring Beer. —Boil down 3 small bunches each of sweet 
fern,sarsaparilla, wintergreen, sassafras, prince’s pine, spice wood, 
in 8 gallons water to 6 gallons of decoction or extract; strain 
4 gallons of water boiled down to 3 gallons of decoction, with £ 
pound hops ; strain; mix the two extracts or decoctions together \ 
dissolve in them 1 gallon of molasses, and, when cooled to 80° 
heat, 1-J pounds of roasted bread soaked in fresh brewers’ yeast; 
fill up a 10-gallon keg ; when fermentation is over mix with it 
the white of 1 egg beaten to froth; bung it and bottle when clear. 

White Spruce Beer. —Dissolve 10 pounds loaf sugar in 10 
gallons boiling water, add 4 ounces essence of spruce ; when 


CIDER AND OTHER BEVERAGES. 499 

nearly cold add £ pint yeast. Keep in a warm place. Next day 
strain through flannel, put in bottles and wire the corks. 

Wahoo Beer. —Boil for 6 hours in 4 gallons of water, 
1 ounce each sarsaparilla, Solomon's seal, nettle root, and sassa¬ 
fras ; 2 ounces each burdock root, comfrey root and Prince's 
pine ; 2 ounces sweet fern, £ ounce wintergreen, and 4 raw po¬ 
tatoes cut up fine. Strain, and add 1 quart molasses for each 3 
gallons of the strained liquor, and a browned loaf of bread. 
When cool, put in 1 pint of good yeast, and let it ferment for 
24 hours. It will then be ready to put into bottles or a keg. 

Corn Beer. —Cold water, 5 gallons; sound, nice com,l quart.; 
molasses, 2 quarts; put all into a keg ; shake well, and in 2 or 3 
days a fermentation will have been brought on as nicely as with 
yeast. Keep it bunged tight. It may be flavored with oils of 
spruce or lemon, if desired, by pouring on to the oils one or two 
quarts of the water, boiling hot. 

Ginger Beer. —Take of Race Ginger, bruised, 4 ounces. 
Bitartrate of Potassa 3 ounces; mix them, and add 5 pounds 
loaf sugar, 2 lemons, spiced, and 5 gallons boiling water; let 
stand 12 hours, then add a teacupful of yeast, and bottle imme¬ 
diately and securely. In a day or two it will be ready for use. 
A delightful, wholesome and stimulating summer drink. 

Ginger Beer—Another Formula. —White sugar 5 
pounds, lemon juice \ pint, honey £ pound, ginger, bruised, 5 
ounces, water 4i gallons. Boil the ginger in 3 quarts of the 
water for £ hour, then add the sugar, lemon juice and honey, 
with the remainder of the water, and strain through a cloth ; 
when cold, add i of the white of an egg, and a small teaspoonful 
of essence of lemon ; let the whole stand 4 days and then bot¬ 
tle ; it will keep for many months. This quantity will make 
100 bottles at a cost for raw material (aside from bottles) not 
exceeding 40 or 50 cents. 

Pipsissewa Beer.— Take of pipsissewa (Chimaphila) 6 
ounces, water 1 gallon; mix, boil and strain, then add brown 
sugar 1 pound, powdered ginger % ounce, and J teacup of yeast. 
Stir the whole well, and set aside till fermentation has com¬ 
menced, then bottle for use. A small tumblerful 3 times a day 
will be found an excellent alterative diuretic. Sarsaparilla, sas- 


500 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

safras, and other tonic and diuretic substances may be used in 
the same way. 

Root Beer. —Take Sarsaparilla root and dry sassafras bark, 
of each i pound, and 3 ounces of wintergreen, stem and leaf; 
bruise the roots, barks, and leaves, and boil, to get the strength, 
in 5 gallons of water. Strain into a keg, if not to be bottled, 
and add \ gallon of molasses; when cooled to 60° or 65°, put in 
£ pint of yeast, and let stand 2 hours, when the keg is to be 
filled with 11 gallons of water. If to be bottled, this can be 
done in a tub or jar, covering over to allow it to work for 5 or 6 
hours, then bung, or bottle as the case may be. 

California Fruit Nectar. —Pare the yellow rinds very 
thinly from 12 lemons, squeeze the juice over them in an earthen 
bowl and let stand over night if possible. Pare and slice thinly 
a very ripe pineapple, and let it lie over night in \ pound of pow¬ 
dered sugar. Crush 1 quart berries and let them lie over night 
in the same quantity of sugar. The fruit and sugar should be 
mixed as above full 12 hours before the beverage is used. 
Strain off the juice, carefully pressing all of it out of the fruit; 
mix it with 2 pounds powdered sugar and 3 quarts ice water, 
and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Strain again through a 
muslin or bolting-cloth sieve and put on ice or in a very cool place. 

Sarsaparilla Mead. —Three pounds sugar, 3 ounces tar¬ 
taric acid, 1 ounce cream of tartar, 1 ounce flour, 1 ounce sar¬ 
saparilla, 3 quarts water; strain and bottle, then let stand 10 
days before using. 

Blackberry Cordial. —One quart blackberry juice, 1 pound 
white sugar, £ ounce of grated nutmeg, and the same of pow¬ 
dered cinnamon; £ pound allspice, and the same of powdered 
cloves ; add 1 pint best brandy. Tie the spices in thin muslin 
bags; boil juice, sugar and spices together 15 minutes, skim¬ 
ming well; add the brandy and set aside in a closely-covered 
vessel. When perfectly cold strain out the spices, bottle, and 
seal the corks. 

Ginger Beverage. —Take ^ cup vinegar, 1 cup sugar, 2 
teaspoonfuls ginger; stir well together, put in a quart pitcher 
and fill with ice water. It can easily be made either more sweet 
or more tart by varying the ingredients. It is a nice and cool¬ 
ing drink 


CIDER AND OTHER BEVERAGES. 501 

Cherry Wine. —One quart strained cherry juice, 2 of water, 
3 pounds sugar. This will make 1 gallon. 

PLAIN BEVERAGES.* 

Oatmeal Drink. —For persons engaged in farm work or 
outdoor labor of any kind, there is no better drink than J pound 
of oatmeal and 1 ounce of sugar stirred in a gallon of clear, cold 
water. It is best put in a jug or earthen crock. It gives all the 
requisites of a beverage to quench thirst, while the oatmeal 
makes it refreshing and nourishing. It is better than lager beer 
or any commercial beverage. 

To Cool Water. —Take a porous (unglazed) earthen jug or 
jar, fill it with water, and swing it in the air for any length of 
time ; the longer the motion is kept up the cooler the water will 
be. In Mexico there are jars made on purpose for this use. 

Another Way. —Put water' in a covered tank or jar and 
keep it wrapped with wet cloths. 

To Cleanse Cistern Water. —Two ounces of Permanga¬ 
nate of Potassa thrown in a cistern will render the foulest water 
sweet and pure. 

To Purify Muddy Water. —Since, in dry seasons, any 
water may be of high value, at least for cattle drinking, place in 
a large-sized cask a false bottom perforated with some holes ; 
and put on that bottom, first, clean pebbles, next, well washed 
sand, then a layer of coarsely granulated charcoal, and over all 
this a piece of canvas. The water, even that standing in shallow 
ditches after a shower of rain, may be poured into this filter, 
and thus become available for cattle-drinking, though it may 
not be quite elear. 

ICES, SODA SYRUPS AND LEMONADE. 

Confectioners, druggists and others, will find the information 
given under this head of great practical value in small compass. 

To Make Ice. —There are various processes for manufactur¬ 
ing ice on a large scale. Small quantities may be made by the 
following process : Take an unglazed stone bottle of any size 
(say a gallon), and nearly fill it with clean, hot water, but leaving 
a little space for expansion; put into it refined nitre, in the pro¬ 
portion of \ ounce to each quart of water; stop the bottle per- 


502 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


f ectly tight, and lower it by a cord into the water in a deep well. 
The water in the bottle will be frozen in 3 or 4 hours ; but the 
freezing may be hastened by moving the bottle, slowly raising it 
out of the water and re-immersing it. The bottle will have to be 
broken to get the ice. 

For FreezingWithout Ice. —Mix well together 1 part mur¬ 
iate of ammonia, well pulverized, and 2 parts saltpetre; put 
them in a bottle or jar and keep well covered and in a cool place. 
Take common soda, well pulverized, and put in a separate bot¬ 
tle or jar and keep cool and well covered. To use : Take from 
the two jars equal quantities of the contents of each, stir them 
together, and place in the freezing-pot, which should be of as 
small dimensions as the thing to be frozen will admit of; this, 
at least, will be economy. Add water only enough to dissolve 
the ingredients; say if a pint of each is used, a pint of water 
-will dissolve the whole. Put in the article to be frozen; if it be 
cream, it should he in a covered dish; if wine, in corked bottles ; 
cover the whole with a cloth snugly folded upon it, and in a 
short time the freezing will be complete. Mixed as above indi¬ 
cated, pint for pint, will be sufficient to ice two bottles of wine, 
one after the other, in the hottest of weather, if the freezing- 
pot used is of such size as to prevent the waste of material. 

Syrups for flavoring soda and mineral waters may be made as 
follows : 

Simple Syrup. —White sugar 10 pounds, water 1 gallon, 
isinglass (best) £ ounce (or, the white of an egg). Dissolve the 
isinglass in hot water, and add it to the hot syrup. The syrup 
is to be made with gentle heat, and then strained. 

Lemon. —Grate off the yellow rind of lemons, and beat it up 
with a sufficient quantity of granulated sugar. Express the 
lemon juice, add 1 pint water to each pint of juice and 3£ pounds 
granulated sugar, including that rubbed up with the rind ; warm 
until the sugar is dissolved, and strain. 

Ginger. —Tincture of ginger 2 fluid ounces, simple syrup 4 
pints ; mix. 

Vanilla. —Fluid extract of vanilla 1 ounce, citric acid \ 
ounce, simple syrup 1 gallon; rub the acid with some of the 
syrup, add the extract of vanilla, and mix. 


CIDER AND OTHER BEVERAGES. 


503 


Wild Cherry. —Steep 4 ounces wild cherry bark, well 
bruised, in 1 pint cold water, for 36 hours; press out the infu¬ 
sion ; let it stand till clear; decant, and add 1J pounds fine 
white sugar ; mix and strain. 

Strawberry. —Take fresh strawberries 5 quarts, white sugar 
12 pounds, water 1 pint. Sprinkle some of the sugar over the 
fruit in layers, and allow the whole to stand for several hours ; 
express the juice and strain, washing out the pulp with water; 
add the remainder of sugar and water, bring the fluid to the 
point of boiling, and then strain. This will keep for a long time. 

Fruit Acid —Used in some of the syrups. Citric acid 4 
ounces; water 8 ounces. 

Raspberry Syrup. —Make as directed for strawberry syrup. 
The flavor of this syrup is improved by using 1 pint currants to 

5 of raspberries. 

Blackberry. —Make as directed for strawberry, and add to 
•each quart 1 ounce of the best French brandy. 

Pineapple. —Take a convenient number of pineapples, pare 
and mash them in a marble or porcelain mortar, with a small 
quantity of sugar ; express the juice, and for each quart take 1J 
pints water and 6 pounds fine sugar ; boil the sugar and water, 
then add the juice; remove from the fire and skim and strain. 

Pear, Apple and Banana syrups may be made in the same way. 

Wintergreen. —Oil of wintergreen 25 drops, simple syrup 

6 pints ; sufficient burnt sugar to color; mix. 

Maple Syrup. —Take maple sugar 4 pounds, water 2 pints. 

Chocolate, —Mix 8 ounces chocolate in 2 pints water, and 
stir thoroughly over a slow fire. Strain and add 4 pounds white 
sugar. 

Orange. —Take a convenient number of fresh and ripe 
oranges, grate off the outside yellow peel; cut the oranges and 
express the juice ; and to each quart add 1 pint water and 6 pounds 
sugar, previously well mixed with the grated peel. Dissolve by 
gentle heat, then strain. 

Orange Flower. —Add to 1 gallon simple syrup \ ounce 
extract of orange flowers. 

Coffee Syrup. —Mocha coffee, roasted, \ pound, boiling 
water 1 gallon. Enough is filtered to make \ gallon of the in¬ 
fusion, to which add granulated sugar 7 pounds. 


504 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

Simple Cream Syrup. —Mix together thoroughly 1 pound 
powdered sugar with 1 pint fresh cream. Keep it in pint bot¬ 
tles for use. 

Superior Lemonade. —Take the rind of 2 lemons, juice of 
3 large lemons, £ pound loaf sugar, 1 quart boiling water. Rub 
some of the sugar, in lumps, on 2 of the lemons until they have 
imbibed all the oil from them, and put it with the remainder of 
the sugar into a jug; add the lemon juice (but no pips), and 
pour over the whole 1 quart boiling water. When the sugar is 
dissolved, strain the lemonade through a piece of muslin, and, 
when cool, it will be ready for use. The lemonade will be much 
improved by having the white of an egg beaten up with it. 

Portable Lemonade. —Take 1 pound finely powdered loaf 
sugar, 1 ounce tartaric or citric acid, and 20 drops essence of 
lemon. Mix, and keep very dry. Two or 3 teaspoonfuls of this 
stirred briskly in a tumbler of water will make a very pleasant 
glass of lemonade. If effervescent lemonade be desired, 1 ounce 
carbonate of soda must be added to the above. 

Soda Lemonade. —Pound and mix together J pound 
loaf sugar, 1 ounce carbonate of soda, and 3 drops oil of lemon. 
Divide the mixture into 16 portions, wrapped in white paper. 
Then take 1 ounce of tartaric acid, and divide into 16 portions, 
wrapping them in blue paper. Dissolve 1 of each kind in £ 
tumbler of water, mix the two solutions together, and drink 
while effervescing. 

SALOON AND BAR DRINKS. 

Wines. —Wine in bottles should never be allowed to remain 
in case, but unpacked, and laid on the side. All liquors that 
are liable to ferment should be so placed, thus keeping the 
corks soaked and excluding the air, and stored where it is 
least exposed to the changes of temperature. All red wines 
should be kept dry and warm, as they are more easily injured by 
cold than by heat. Consequently, in cool climates, clarets are 
better stored in a closet on the second floor (not too near a 
fire) than in a cellar. Champagnes and Rhine wines stand 
cold better than heat, which frequently causes fermentation. 

Serving of Wines. —The temperature at which wines 
should be served differs materially. Maderia ought to be about 


CIDER AND OTHER BEVERAGES. 


505 


the same temperature as the room. So too with claret, with 
which ice should never he used. It should remain 48 hours 
standing, and then decanted. No sediment must be allowed 
to enter the decanter. Keep champagne on ice several hours 
before serving, or let it be half frozen by pounding ice quite fine, 
then mixing with it an equal amount of salt, and surrounding 
the bottles with it. It should be in proper condition for use in 
2 hours. 

MIXED DRINKS. 

Claret Punch. —Take 1J tablespoonfuls of sugar, 1 slice 
of lemon, 2 or 3 slices of orange. Fill the tumbler with shaved 
ice, and then pour in the claret, shake well, and ornament 
with berries in season. Place a straw in the glass. 

Sherry Cobbler. —Take 2 wineglasses of sherry, 1 table¬ 
spoonful of sugar, 2 or 3 slices of orange. Fill a tumbler with, 
shaved ice, shake well, and ornament with berries in season. 

Another Kind of Cobbler. —Lay in a wide-mouthed quart 
pitcher several slices of pineapple, cut in quarters, a lemon and 
an orange, sliced thin, and sprinkle sugar and pounded ice be¬ 
tween the layers. Cover with sugar and ice, and let all stand, 
together 5 minutes. Add then 2 tumblerfuls of water, and 
more sugar, using in all \ cupful of powdered sugar, and stir- 
well to dissolve this. Fill the pitcher nearly full of powdered 
ice, pour in the wine, and stir up from the bottom until the in¬ 
gredients are thoroughly mixed. Place a slice of each kind of 
fruit in each goblet before pouring the liquid. It is best sucked 
through a straw or glass tube. 

Milk Punch. —Take 1 tablespoonful white sugar, 2 table¬ 
spoonfuls water, 1 wineglass Cognac brandy, \ wineglass Santa. 
Cruz rum, -§• tumblerful shaved ice. Fill with milk, shake the 
ingredients well together, and grate a little nutmeg on top. 

Brandy Punch. —Take 1 tablespoonful raspberry syrup, 2 
tablespoonfuls white sugar, 1 wineglass water, 1 \ wineglasses 
brandy, \ small sized lemon, 2 slices orange, 1 piece pineapple. 
Fill the tumbler with shaved ice, shake well, and dress the top 
with berries in season ; sip through a straw. 

Whisky Punch. —Take 1 wineglass whisky (Irish or Scotch), 
2 wineglasses boiling water, sugar to taste. Dissolve the sugar 

32 


506 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

well with 1 wineglass of the water, then pour in the whisky, and 
add the balance of the water, sweeten to taste, and put in a 
small piece of lemon rind, or a thin slice of lemon. 

Egg-Nog. —Take 1 tablespoonful of fine sugar, dissolved with 
1 tablespoonful cold water, 1 egg, 1 wineglass Cognac brandy, 

wineglass Santa Cruz rum, -J tumblerful of milk. Fill the 
tumbler \ full with shaved ice, shake the ingredients until they 
are thoroughly mixed together, and grate a little nutmeg on top. 

Bottle Cocktail. —To make a delicious bottle of brandy 
cocktail, use the following ingredients: § brandy, -§■ water, 1 
pony glass of Bogart’s bitters, 1 wineglass of gum syrup, ^ pony 
glass of curacoa. Whisky and gin cocktails, in bottles, may be 
made by using the above receipt, and substituting those liquors 
instead of brandy. 

Brandy Smash. —Half tablespoonful of white sugar, 1 table¬ 
spoonful water, 1 wineglass of brandy. Fill -§ full of shaved ice, 
use 2 sprigs of mint, the same as in the receipt for mint julep. 
Lay 2 small pieces of orange on top, and ornament with berries 
in season. 

Santa Cruz Sour. —One tablespoonful sugar, 1 wineglass 
Santa Cruz rum, juice of % lemon. Put the ingredients in a 
small tumbler -§ full of shaved ice, stir, and strain into a claret 
glass, and dress with thin slices of lime or lemon, and fruit in 
season. 

Tom and Jerry.— Ingredients: Four eggs, and 6 large 
spoonfuls of powdered sugar beaten together very light, (a per¬ 
fect froth), 6 small wineglasses of rum, and 1 pint of boiling 
water. Stir the water into the mixture, and then turn it back 
and forth into 2 pitchers, the pitchers being hot, and the 
glasses also hot. Grate nutmeg on the top of each glass, and 
drink immediately. 

IMITATION LIQUORS. 

Essence of Cognac— Is made as follows: Take 1 ounce oil 
Cognac—the green oil is the best; put it in i gallon 95 per cent, 
spirits. Cork it up tight, shake it frequently for about 3 days ; 
then add 2 ounces strong ammonia. Let it stand 3 days longer; 
then place in a stone jar that will contain about 3 gallons, 1 
pound fine black tea, 2 pounds prunes, having first mashed the 


CIDER AND OTHER BEVERAGES. 


507 


prunes and broken the kernels. Pour on them 1 gallon spirits 
20 above proof. Cover close, and let stand 8 days. Filter 
the liquor, and mix with that containing the oil and ammonia. 
Bottle it for use. This makes the best flavoring known for 
manufacturing brandies, or for adding to such cordials, syrups, 
etc., as require a fine brandy flavor. 

Brandy with Essence of Cognac. —Take 1 pint es¬ 
sence of Cognac, 15 gallons pure spirits (very fine) 20 per cent, 
above proof, £ pint plain white syrup. Color with caramel. 

Cognac Brandy. —To 36 gallons French proof spirits, add 
4 gallons Pellevoisin or Marette Cognac, £ gallon best sherry 
or Madeira wine, and 20 drops oil of Cognac, dissolved in a lit¬ 
tle 95 per cent, alcohol. Then pour 2 quarts boiling water over 
2 ounces black tea; when cold, filter through flannel, and add a 
little maraschino ; mix this with the other ingredients, and color 
the whole to suit, with caramel. 

Pale Brandy. —Infuse 1 drachm star-anise (breaking the 
star only) for 8 hours in £ pint 95 per cent, alcohol, and fil¬ 
ter ; add this to 40 gallons proof spirits ; then add £ gallon best 
Jamaica rum, and 1 pint of the best raspberry syrup. Dissolve 
1 drachm oil of Cognac, and 12 drops oil of bitter almonds, sep¬ 
arately, in a little 95 per cent, alcohol, and mix them with the 
whole. 

French Brandy. —To 40 gallons French proof spirit, 
add 1 quart tincture of orris root, 1 pint vanilla flavoring, £ gal¬ 
lon best sherry or Madeira wine, and 1 pint wine vinegar. Dis¬ 
solve separately 1 drachm oil of Cognac and 12 drops oil of bit¬ 
ter almonds, each in a little 95 per cent, alcohol, and add them 
to the mixture, coloring the whole to suit with caramel. 

Copper Distilled Bourbon, —Dissolve 1 drachm sulphate 
of copper in £ pint of water, filter, and add it to 40 gallons proof 
spirit, with 1 gallon peach flavor, 1 gallon brandy flavor, 1 pint 
wine vinegar, 1 pound white glycerine, and 12 drops oil of Cog¬ 
nac dissolved in 95 per cent, alcohol. Color with caramel. 

Rye Whisky. —To 40 gallons proof spirit, add 2 gallons 
peach flavoring, 1 pint white vinegar, and 12 drops oil of Cognac 
in 95 per cent, alcohol. Color with caramel. 

Sweet Rye Whisky.—Thirty gallons proof spirit, 10 
gallons proof rye whisky, and 1 gallon raisin flavor, colored with 
sufficient caramel. 


508 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


Bourbon Whisky. —Mix together 40 gallons proof spirits, 
i gallon peach flavoring, £ gallon hickory nut flavoring, £ gallon 
highly flavored brandy, 1 pint wine vinegar, and 1 pint white 
glycerine. Add to these 12 drops oil of Cognac dissolved in 95 
per cent, alcohol, and color with caramel. 

Lemon Juice. —Citric or tartaric acid, 2£ ounces ; gum, \ 
ounce; pieces of fresh lemon peel, f ounce ; loaf sugar, 2 ounces ;; 
boiling water, 1 quart; macerate with occasional agitation until 
cold, and strain. Excellent. 

Orange Juice. —Dissolve 1 ounce citric acid and 1 drachm 
carbonate of potassa in 1 quart water, and digest in the solution 
the peel of half an orange until sufficiently flavored ; then sweet¬ 
en with honey or white sugar. Instead of the orange peel, 5 or 
6 drops of oil of orange peel, with £ fluid ounce tincture of or¬ 
ange peel, may be used. 

Irish Whisky. —Thirty-six gallons French spirits 20 
above proof, 4 gallons Scotch (Ramsay) whisky, 3 pints best 
sherry wine, 2 pints syrup, and 10 drops sassafras flavor. 

Scotch Whisky. —Thirty-six gallons French spirits 20 
above proof, 4 gallons Scotch whisky, and 1 quart syrup. 

To Give the Smoky Flavor to Whisky. —The sim¬ 
plest way to impart this peculiar flavor to whisky is by prepar¬ 
ing the barrel. Insert securely a large sheet-iron funnel into the 
bung-hole of a dry 40-gallon barrel; provide a small open fur¬ 
nace, containing a charcoal fire ; put 1 pound of birch bark on 
the fire, and support the barrel, with its funnel downwards, over 
the furnace, so that the funnel, which should be considerably 
wider than the furnace, will receive the smoke from the bark. 
When the bark ceases smoking, remove the funnel and bung the 
barrel up tight. After it has stood 24 hours, put the spirit in 
the barrel, and keep it there for 36 hours, frequently rolling the 
barrel, in order that the spirits may be thoroughly impregnated 
with the smoke and smoky deposit on the inside of the barrel. 
The spirits will then be found to have acquired the desired flavor. 
Creosote, diluted with alcohol, is sometimes used to impart the 
smoky flavor to spirits. 

To Give the Appearance of Age to Brandy Barrels. 

—Dissolve in 3 gallons water, 3 pounds sulphuric acid and 1 


CIDER AND OTHER BEVERAGES. 509 

pound sulphate of iron. Wash the barrels with it on the out¬ 
side. 

Schiedam Gin. —Dissolve 3-J drachms oil of juniper in 
sufficient 95 per cent, alcohol to make a clear liquid ; add it to 
40 gallons French spirits 10 above proof, with 8 ounces orange 
peel flavoring, 1 quart syrup, and 30 drops oil of sweet fennel. 

Old Tom London Gin. —Dissolve in 1 quart 95 per cent, 
alcohol, 1 drachm oil of coriander, 1 drachm oil of cedar, \ 
drachm oil of bitter almonds, -J- drachm oil of angelica, and \ 
drachm oil of sweet fennel; add it to 40 gallons French spirit 10 
above proof, with 1 pint orange-flower water, 1 quart syrup, and 
1 drachm oil of juniper dissolved in sufficient 95 per cent, alco¬ 
hol to be clear. 

Santa Cruz Hum. —Thirty-five gallons New England rum, 
5 gallons Santa Cruz rum, and 1 drachm vanilla flavoring. 

Jamaica Hum. —Twenty gallons spirit 10 above proof, 20 
gallons New England rum 10 above proof, pound Jamaica 
rum essence, 1 gallon St. John’s bread flavoring, and 1 pound 
white glycerine. Color to suit with caramel. Or, 40 gallons 
spirit 10 above proof, 1 pound Jamaica rum essence, 10 drops oil 
of cloves, 1 gallon St. John’s bread flavoring, and 1 pound white 
glycerine. If desired, there may be added 1 ounce gum kino and 
\ drachm oil of caraway, each dissolved in 2 ounces 95 per cent, 
alcohol. 

Artificial Cider. —To cold Water, 1 gallon, put dark brown 
sugar, 1 pound; tartaric acid, ^ ounce ; yeast, three tablespoon¬ 
fuls, and keep these proportions for any amount desired to make; 
shake it well together. Make it in the evening and it will 
be fit for use the next day. 

Imitation Port Wine. —Fully ripe, wild grapes, 2 bushels; 
best alcohol, 3 gallons ; sugar, 25 pounds ; water to fill a barrel. 

FLAVORINGS AND BITTERS. 

To Make Caramel. —White sugar, 1 pound; water, 1 
gill; put into an iron kettle, let boil, and burn to a red black, 
and thick; remove from the fire and add a little hot water to 
prevent it from hardening as it cools ; then bottle for use. 

Prune Flavoring, —Mash 25 pounds prunes, infuse for 
15 days with 6 gallons proof spirit, stirring it every day; press 
and filter. 


510 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC, 

Raisin Flavoring. —Subject 25 pounds mashed raisins to 
the same process as the prunes in the last recipe. 

St. John’s Bread Flavoring. —Out 50 pounds St. John’s 
bread into small pieces. Infuse for 15 days with 12 gallons, 
proof spirits, stirring every day ; filter. 

Orange Peel Flavoring. —Steep 1 pound orange peel in 
1 gallon 95 per cent, alcohol for 15 days; filter. 

Vanilla Flavoring. —Slice 1 drachm vanilla in small pieces ; 
infuse for 20 days in 1 pint 95 per cent, alcohol; filter. 

Orris Root Flavoring. —Infuse 2 ounces powdered orris 
root for 20 days in 1 quart 95 per cent, alcohol, and filter. 

Sassafras Flavoring. —Granulate J pound sassafras bark,, 
and infuse it in £ gallon 95 per cent, alcohol for 20 days; filter. 

Hickory Hut Flavoring. —Crush 1 bushel hickory nuts, 
and infuse for 1 month in 12 gallons 95 per cent, alcohol; strain 
and filter. 

Flavoring for Brandy. —Mash 25 pounds raisins, 12' 
pounds prunes, 6 pounds figs, and 1 pineapple sliced; infuse 
for 15 days in 20 gallons proof spirits, stirring every day, and 
then filter. 

Coffee Flavoring. —Infuse 1 pound ground roasted coffee 
in 1 gallon 95 per cent, alcohol. This is used in combination 
with other flavors for brandy. 

Peach Flavoring for Whisky. —Steep for 1 month, 10 

gallons dried peaches, 10 gallons oak saw-dust, and 5 pounds 
black tea in 40 gallons proof spirits; strain and filter. 

Boker’s Bitters. —Take 1J ounces quassia, 1£ ounces cala¬ 
mus, 1^- ounces catechu (powdered), 1 ounce cardamom, 2 ounces 
dried orange peel. Macerate the above 10 days in \ gallon 
strong whisky, and then filter and add 2 gallons water. Color 
with mallow or malva flowers. 

Stoughton Bitters.— To 12 pounds dry orange peel,3 pounds 
Virginia snakeroot, 1 pound American saffron, 16 pounds gen¬ 
tian root, add 1 pound red saunders. Grind all the above ingre¬ 
dients to a coarse powder, and macerate for 10 days in 20 gal¬ 
lons 65 per cent, alcohol, then filter. 

Peruvian Bitters. —Take 8 ounces red Peruvian bark, 8- 
ounces orange peel, 1J drachms each cinnamon, cloves, and nut- 


CIDER AND OTHER BEVERAGES. 


511 


meg, and 75 cayenne pepper seeds. Infuse them, well bruised, 
in 8 gallons proof spirits, for 15 to 20 days, stirring every day. 
Draw off and filter. 

Brandy Bitters. —Grind to coarse powder 3 pounds gentian 
root, 2 pounds dry orange peel, 1 pound cardamom seeds, 2 ounces 
cinnamon, 2 ounces cochineal. Infuse 10 days in 1 gallon 
brandy, 8 gallons water, and filter. 

Nonpareil Bitters. —Grind to coarse powder 2 ounces Peru¬ 
vian bark, \ ounce sweet orange peel, £ ounce bitter orange peel, 
25 grains cinnamon, 25 grains cloves, 25 grains nutmeg, 15 cay¬ 
enne pepper seeds. Infuse 10 days in 2 gallons 65 per cent, 
alcohol, then filter. 

Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters. —European gentian root 1J 
ounces, orange peel 2£ ounces', cinnamon J ounce, anise seed £ 
ounce, coriander seed £ ounce, cardamom seed -J ounce, unground 
Peruvian bark £ ounce, gum kino £ ounce; bruise all these 
articles, and put them into the best alcohol, 1 pint; let it stand 
a week, and pour off the clear tincture; then boil the dregs a 
few minutes in 1 quart of water, strain, and press out all the 
strength; now dissolve loaf sugar 1 pound, in the hot liquid, 
adding 3 quarts cold water, and mix with the spirit tincture first 
poured off, or you can add these, and let it stand on the dregs if 
preferred. 

To Clean Bottles.— If bottles are sour, or otherwise unclean, 
saleratus or soda in water, or lye made from wood ashes, may be 
used to cleanse them. For friction, put in a handful of duck 
shot and shake well. 

To Sweeten Casks. —Mix f pint of vitriol with a quart of 
water, pour it into the barrel, and roll it about; next day add 1 
pound of chalk, and roll again. Bung down for 3 or 4 days, 
then rinse well with hot water. 


To Clean Barrels and Casks.— See recipe for cleaning 
cider barrels, page 494. 





512 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


TRADE AND MECHANISM. 

In many parts of the country the local merchant, in addition 
to buying and selling goods, finds it necessary to add his labor 
to some part of the produce that he receives, to preserve and 
prepare it for shipping. In other cases, small grocers especially, 
whose time is not fully employed in waiting upon customers, 
find it economy to compound many articles which under other 
circumstances they would purchase from the manufacturers. 
For these reasons a very few pages of this work are given to 
these topics. The matter under this head relating to Mechanism, 
is both for the information of the general public and for the 
instruction of the particular trades named. 

MERCHANTS AND GROCERS. 

To Pack Butter. —The art of butter making and packing 
belongs more especially to the dairy, but there are many farmers 
who market small lots of butter at the stores that have to be 
cared for by the merchant. When the stock on han 1 makes it 
necessary to pack the butter for its better preservation and keep¬ 
ing, the first thing to do is to work it over thoroughly to get out 
the buttermilk, which the maker is not always over careful to 
do. Each lot should be worked separately, and kept separate ; 
“ streaked” butter is not particularly appetizing. Use rock salt 
when further salting is required. 

It is well to pack the choice lots in stone jars. Cover them 
with a thin layer of fresh lard or an inch or two of brine, so as 
to exclude the air, and keep in a cool place, and the butter will 
keep sweet for a long time. 

For shipping, pack in clean kegs or firkins, and whether using 
jcirs or kegs, over each lot of butter place a thickness of thin 
muslin, then sprinkle on a thin layer of salt, and place another 
thickness of muslin over it. 

To Preserve Eggs. —Merchants many times have offerings 
of fresh eggs largely beyond the consumption. A method of 


TRADE AND MECHANISM. 


513 


preserving them is therefore of great value. For this purpose 
take fresh slaked lime 2 parts, salt 1 part; put in a vessel and 
add boiling water to dissolve them, then reduce the brine by 
adding water, so that a single egg will float with its upper side 
just above the surface. Usually \ pint of lime and half the 
quantity of salt to each gallon of water will be found about the 
proportion. The English method prescribes also cream of tar¬ 
tar, say equal to \ the amount of salt. Use a tight barrel or 
stone jar. The eggs may be first laid in by hand and the brine 
turned on them, or they may be carefully placed in the brine. 
Great care should be taken not to crack any of them, and only 
perfectly fresh eggs should be used. Keep the eggs wholly cov¬ 
ered with the brine, and set in a cool place. 

Another Method. —When newly laid, an egg is almost per¬ 
fectly full, but the shell is porous, and the watery portion of the 
contents begins to evaporate through the pores the moment it is 
exposed to the air, so that the egg becomes lighter every day. 
To preserve the interior of the egg in its natural state, it is 
necessary to seal up the pores of the shell air tight. This may 
be done by dipping them in melted suet, olive oil, milk of lime, 
solution of gum arabic, or covering them with any air proof 
varnish. They are then packed in bran, oats, meal, salt, ashes, 
or charcoal powder. 

To Distinguish Sound Eggs. —To ascertain whether an 
•egg is good or bad, hold it up to the light. A good egg is trans¬ 
lucent, but a bad one is perfectly opaque; the difference is as 
easily perceived as that between a blue egg and a white one. 

Baking Powder. —Take common baking soda and cream 
of tartar, f of a measure (by weight) of soda to a full measure 
of the cream of tartar. Dry them separately in an oven, 
then mix thoroughly, and keep dry in bottles or tight boxes. 
Used for making biscuits or griddle cakes, with water or sweet 
milk, say a teaspoonful of the powder to a quart of flour. The 
powder should be thoroughly mixed with the flour before wetting. 
Bake immediately upon mixing. 

Mouth Glue, —Take of glue 2 parts, sugar 1 part; or gela¬ 
tine instead of glue makes a nicer article. First place the 
glue in some water and let it remain a couple of hours, then take 
it out and cover it with a wet cloth or paper (a number of thick- 


514 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

nesses), so as to keep it wet, and let remain over night or until 
thoroughly soft and limp. It will then dissolve readily by a slow 
heat (too much heat will burn it), when stir in the sugar. Pour 
the mixture while warm into a pan, which should be rubbed with 
a little sweet oil (a new square tin is best), and while it is cool¬ 
ing take a strip of tin or other sharp edge, press upon it so as to 
mark in squares of an inch or so. When cold and a little dried 
it will break readily on the divisions ; or it may be cut with a 
knife when cold without the divisions, but it will not cut so well 
after it is dry. By applying the edge of one of the pieces to 
the tongue, or moistening with water, it is serviceable for mend¬ 
ing torn paper, notes, etc. 

CONFECTIONERS. 

Molasses Candy. —Take equal quantities of brown sugar 
and molasses, and put them into a suitable kettle—copper is the- 
best—and when it begins to boil, skim it well, and strain it, or' 
else pour it through a fine wire sieve to free it of slivers and 
sticks which are often found in the sugar ; then return it to the 
kettle and continue to boil, until, when you have dipped your 
hand in cold water and passed one or two fingers through the 
boiling candy and immediately back to the cold water, what ad¬ 
heres, when cold, will crush like dry egg-shells, and does not 
adhere to the teeth when bitten. When done, pour it on a stone; 
or platter which has been greased, and as it gets cool begin to 
throw up the edges and work it by pulling on a hook or by the* 
hand, until bright and glistening like gold; the hands should 
have a little flour on them occasionally ; now keep the mass by 
a warm stove (if much is made at one time), and draw it into 
stick size, occasionally rolling them to keep round, until all is 
pulled out and cold; then with shears crease them at proper 
lengths for the sticks, and they will snap quickly while yet 
the stick will bend ; no color, no butter, no lard or flavor is used 
or need be, yet any flavoring extract can be used, if desired, when 
poured out to cool. 

Sugar left in molasses barrels works very nicely in this prepa¬ 
ration. Pulverized white sugar sprinkled upon the candy will 
prevent it from sticking together. 

White Candy. —If it is desired to have candy that is 
perfectly white, proceed as follows: Best coffee sugar, 2-J- pounds 


TRADE AND MECHANISM. 


515 


the nicest syrup, lj pints ; boil very carefully, until when tried 
as above, it crisps like egg-shells, or flies like glass; then draw 
and work upon the hook until very white. 

Candy Without Sugar. —Porto Rico molasses, boiled and 
worked as above, has a cream shade according to the amount of 
pulling, and most persons prefer it to the mixture of sugar and 
molasses, as in the first. 

Pop Corn Balls. —Pop the corn, avoiding all that is not 
nicely opened ; place bushel of the corn upon a table or in a 
large dripping pan; put a little water in a suitable kettle with 
sugar, 1 pound, and boil as for candy, until it becomes quite 
waxy in water when tried as for candy. 

Prepare previously a thick gum arabic solution, and add -J 
teacupful to the boiled sugar water, removing it from the fire. 
Now take a quart or 2 of the corn in a large bowl or tray, 
sprinkle a little of the liquid upon it, and using a stick for the pur¬ 
pose, stir until it is well smeared with the mixture, so that it will 
adhere. Form into bads with the hands. Two persons can do* 
the work to better advantage, one applying the adhesive mixture 
while the other forms the balls, which should be done before 
cooling. The proportions above will make about 100 balls suit¬ 
able for the counter or peddling. 

Ice Cream. —Have rich, sweet cream and pound of loaf 
sugar to each quart of cream. In the absence of cream a boiled 
soft custard made with 6 well-beaten eggs to a quart of milk is 
sometimes used. The mixed ingredients are placed in a tin, 
furnished with a handle at top, called a freezer, which is then 
placed in a bucket containing salt and ice—the ice being broken 
small and mixed with half its weight of common salt—and is 
kept in rapid motion backward and forward until frozen. As 
the cream congeals and adheres to the sides, it is scraped down 
with the ice spoon so that the whole mass may be equally exposed 
to the cold. As the salt and ice in the tub melt, more is added 
until the process is completed. The freezer, with the cream still 
in it, is next placed in a stand where it is kept surrounded by 
ice and closely covered. The glasses are filled from this as 
required. The glasses, before using, should be kept as cold as 
possible. 

Strawberry Ice Cream. —Mash 1 quart berries with 1 


510 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


pound sugar. Rub through a colander ; add 1 quart sweet cream 
and freeze as usual. 

Iced Apples, Peaches or Oranges. —Grate fine, sprinkle 
with white sugar, and freeze. 


MASONS’ AND PLASTERERS’ WORK. 


Measurement of Work. —Plain plastering is measured by 
the square yard, or square of three feet. In measuring walls 
and partitions, get the distance round the room, or the girt, and 
the height of the room, both in feet; multiply the one by the 
other, which will give the number of superficial feet, and divide 
the product by 9, which will give the number of superficial yards 
or square yards. It is usual to deduct % the openings, as doors, 
windows, etc. 

In measuring ceilings, take the dimensions from wall to wall, 
in feet, multiply one by the other, and divide by 9. 

Closets and presses, under 4 feet by 8 feet, privies, etc., are 
measured double. 


Stone and Brick Work. —The cubic yard has become the 
standard for all contract work of late years. Stone walls less 
than 16 inches thick count as if 16 inches thick to mason ; over 
16 inches thick, each inch additional is measured. The perch, 
or 24f cubic feet in pile, or 22 cubic feet in wall, is the basis of 
stone and brick measurement with masons and quarrymen. The 
following formula shows the method of computing : 

164 feet long, ) 

16 inches wide, [• =22 cubic feet. To be measured in wall. 

12 “ high, ) 

16| feet long, j 

18 inches wide, [-=24.75 cubic feet. To be measured in pile. 

12 “ high, ) 

Measurement of Brick in Walls. —The following table 
shows the number of bricks required in walls for each square foot 
of face: 


Thickness of Wall. 

4 inches. 7£ 

8 “ .15 

12 “ 22i 

16 “ .30 

20 “ 37£ 

Cubic yard=600 bricks in wall. 

Perch (22 cubic feet)=500 bricks in wall. 

To pave 1 sq. yard on flat requires 41 bricks. 
“1 “ edge “ 68 “ 


Thickness of Wall. 

24 inches.46 

28 “ .52£ 

32 “ .60 

36 “ .67* 

42 « . 75 













TRADE AND MECHANISM. 517 


Bricks for chimneys maybe estimated for each foot in he'ght, 
as follows : 


Size of 
Chimney, 

Size of 
Flue. 

No. of Bricks 
to each foot 
in height. 

Size of 
Chimney. 

Size of 
Flue. 

No. of Bricks 
to each foot 
in height. 

16 x 16 .... 

.. 8 x 8 ... 

.30. 

16 x 24 

8x16 ... 

..40. 

20 x 20 .... 

...12 x 12 ... 

.40. 

20 x 24 .... 

...12 x 16 ... 

.45. 


dualities of Brick. —Brick may be used for nearly all 
the purposes to which stone is applicable. Brick remains un¬ 
changed under the extremes of temperature; resists the ac¬ 
tion of water ; sets firmly and promptly with mortar ; and being 
both cheaper and lighter than stone, is preferable to it for many 
kinds of structures—as arches, the walls of houses, etc. 

Brick of good quality exhibits a fine, compact, uniform tex¬ 
ture when broken across, gives a clear ringing sound when struck, 
and is of a cherry red or brownish color. Three varieties are 
found in the kiln: Those which form the arches, called arch 
brick, are always vitrified in part, and present a grayish, glassy 
appearance at one end; they are very hard, but brittle, and of 
inferior strength, and set badly with mortar. Those from the 
interior of the kiln, usually called red and hard brick, are of 
the best quality. Those from near the top and sides are gener¬ 
ally under-burnt, and are called salmon brick; they have neither 
sufficient strength nor durability for heavy work, nor for the out¬ 
side courses of walls which are exposed to the weather. 

To Stain Brick Bed. —The staining of bricks red is ef¬ 
fected by melting 1 ounce of glue in a gallon of water, then 
adding a piece of alum as large as an egg, £ pound of Venetian 
red and 1 pound of Spanish brown; redness or darkness is in¬ 
creased by using mere red or brown. For coloring Flack, heat 
the bricks and dip in fluid asphaltum, or in a hot mixture of lin¬ 
seed oil and asphalt. 

Tar and Gravel Boofing —This comparatively modern 
style of roofing has become so common, and the method of mak¬ 
ing it is so simple, that many persons may desire to use it in con¬ 
structing their own dwellings; hence the following directions 
are given: First cover the roof with ordinary tongued and grooved 
floor-boards, the same as you would lay a floor; then take roof¬ 
ing-paper, to be obtained in any large town or city, and cover the 
boards with that, to be laid on as shingles are laid, to lap over 
each sheet about an inch, and fastened down with large tacks. 















.518 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


Over the paper spread raw tar. It can be spread with a trowel 
made of a shingle, about the sixteenth of an inch deep. Next 
take a sieve, fill it with sand, and sprinkle as much over the tar 
as it will absorb, sifting on the sand as each course of tar is laid 
on, beginning on the upper side of the roof. Cover the sand 
with a coating of fine gravel, which should be pressed or lightly 
rolled down. 

Such a roof should have a slight descent—say one foot in 
twelve, ’more or less; and the [tar should be laid on when the 
heat of the sun will not cause it to run out of its place before 
the sand is put on. 

A mortar made of tar and sand, like a thick paste, will stop 
any leaks in roofs, especially around chimneys, that can be cov¬ 
ered by it. 

Concrete Floors and Walks. —Compost for barn and 
kitchen floors:—After the ground on which the floor is intended 
to be made is leveled, let it be covered to the thickness of 3 or 4 
inches with stones, broken small, and well rammed down; upon 
which let there be run, about 1-J- inches above the stones, 1 part 
by measure calcined ferruginous marl, and 2 parts coarse sand 
and fine gravel, mixed to a thin consistence with water. Before 
this coating has become thoroughly set, lay upon it a coat of Port¬ 
land cement, mixed with an equal part of fine sand, 1 to 1 \ inches 
thick, leveled to an even surface. The addition of blood will 
render this compost harder. 

Cisterns. —In most localities except in large towns where 
water is supplied by a system of public works, the construction 
of cisterns becomes a necessity. Even where pure well water is 
available for general purposes, a supply of soft water for washing 
is usually secured by means of rain water preserved in a cistern. 
But there are many parts of the country that do not afford pure 
water, and hence a good cistern becomes a double necessity, its 
water being cleansed by filtering for cooking and drinking. Cis¬ 
terns are usually built in excavations made in the ground, but 
they may be built on the surface with manifest advantage, at a 
very trifling additional cost. They could be furnished with 
drainage by which they could be more easily cleansed, and 
could be made secure from vermin, and the water may be 
drawn without a pump. The cistern for family use should be 
provided with a filter. This may be made by building a four- 


TRADE AND MECHANISM. 


519 


inch brick wall across the cistern from bottom to top, laid in 
cement, curving to the side which is to receive the water, and 
which should be about two-thirds the entire capacity of the cis¬ 
tern. The water will filter through the bricks of the partition, 
and may be drawn pure from the small compartment. Another 
good method is to make a small cistern adjoining the main one, 
about five feet wide by six feet deep, connected about a foot 
above the bottom with the large one by a pipe. Till this two- 
thirds full with sand and gravel, and let the water from the roof 
be discharged into it and filter through into the main cistern. 
The advantage of this method is that when the filtering materi¬ 
als become old or too impure, they may be taken out and renewed 
without disturbing or losing the water in the main reservoir. 

Very good cisterns of small capacity are frequently made in 
clay soil by cementing on the earth. 

A walled cistern, whether above or below ground, should be 
built up with stone or brick, and plastered so as to be water 
tight, with water-lime cement. The bottom may be made solid 
by concreting. The best cover is an arch of brick-work. When 
below ground, this is covered with earth. When a cistern is 
built above ground, a firm stone foundation should be made so 
as to be proof against frost, and the walls should be double, with 
a space between, to ensure against freezing. 

Masons’ Cement for Cisterns. —Take equal parts of 
quicklime, pulverized baked bricks, and wood ashes. Thor¬ 
oughly mix the above substances, and dilute with sufficient 
linseed oil to form a manageable paste. This cement immediately 
hardens in the air, and never cracks beneath the water. 


Capacity of Cisterns or Wells.— Tabular view of the 
number of gallons contained in the clear, between the brick¬ 
work, for each ten inches of depth : 


Diameter. 

2 feet equal. 

24 “ “ . 

Gallons. 

. 19 

. 30 

3 “ “ . 

. 44 

34 " “ 

. 60 

4*“ “ ; 

. 78 

41" " . 

. 99 

5 “ “ ::::::: 

. 122 

54 “ “ . 

. 148 

(5~ “ “ . 

. 176 

fit “ “ . 

. 207 

■rr “ “ . 

. 240 

J71 “ . 275 


Diameter. 

Gallons. 

8 feet equal . 

. 313 

8* “ “ . 

. 353 

9 “ " . 

. 396 

9* “ “ . 

. 461 

10 “ “ . 

. 489 

11 “ “ . 

. 592 

12 “ “ . 

. 705 

13 “ “ . 

. 827 

14 “ “ . 

. 959 

15 “ “ . 

. 1101 

20 “ “ . 

. 1958 

25 “ “ . 

. 3059 

































520 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


Kalsomine. —Ten pounds whiting, dissolved in hot or boil¬ 
ing water; £ pound glue, put to soak over night in a pint of cold 
water; 2 ounces ultramarine blue, 1 ounce Venetian red; mix the 
two last separately with cold soft water, and strain through a 
stocking or thin cloth, each in separate vessels. The whiting may 
now be stirred well; if too thick, add more hot water and 
strain through a sieve into a good sized pot. Add some of the 
blue and red alternately until you get the shade required. When 
your color is determined, melt and pour in the glue, and after- 
mixing well apply the hot wash to the wall. Should the second 
coat not be put on until the next day, heat the mixture, as the 
glue will not mix with the other ingredients unless pretty warm. 

Whitewash for out-door Use. —Take a clean, water tight 
barrel, or other suitable cask, and put into it £ bushel lime. 
Slack it by pouring boiling water over it, and in sufficient quan¬ 
tity to cover 5 inches deep, stirring it briskly till thoroughly 
slacked. When slacking has been effected, dissolve in water 
and add 2 pounds sulphate of zinc and 1 of common salt. These- 
will cause the wash to harden and prevent it from cracking, 
which gives an unseemly appearance to the work. If desirable, 
a beautiful cream color may be communicated to the above 
wash, by adding 3 pounds yellow ochre. This wash may be 
applied with a common whitewash-brush, and will be found 
much superior, both in appearance and durability, to common 
whitewash. 

Treasury Department Whitewash. —This receipt for 
whitewashing, sent out by the Lighthouse Board of the Treasury 
Department, has been found, by experience, to answer on wood, 
brick and stone, nearly as well as oil paint, and is much cheaper. 
Slack £ bushel unslacked lime with boiling water, keeping it 
covered during the process. Strain it, and add a peck of salt, 
dissolved in warm water; 3 pounds ground rice put in boiling 
water, and boiled to a thin paste; £ pound Spanish whiting, 
and a pound of clear glue, dissolved in warm water ; mix these 
well together, and let the mixture stand for several days. Keep 
the wash thus prepared in a kettle or portable furnace, and, 
when used, put it on as hot as possible, with painters’ or white¬ 
wash brushes. 

Whitewash for Walls. —Soak £ pound of glue over night 


TRADE AND MECHANISM. 


521 


in tepid water. The next day put it into a tin vessel with a 
quart of water, set the vessel in a kettle of water over a fire, 
keep it there till it boils, and then stir until the glue is dis¬ 
solved. Next put from 6 to 8 potfnds Paris white into another 
vessel, add hot water, and stir until it has the appearance of 
milk of lime. Add the sizing, stir well, and apply in the ordi¬ 
nary way, while still warm. Except on very dark and smoky 
walls and ceilings, a single coat is sufficient. It is nearly equal 
in brilliancy to zinc-white (a far more expensive article), and is 
very highly recommended by those who have used it. Paris 
white is sulphate of baryta, and may be found at any drug or 
paint store* 

Fire-proof Whitewash. —Make ordinary whitewash and 
add 1 part silicate of soda (or potash) to every 5 parts of the 
whitewash. 

Whitewash for Fences and Out-Buildings.— Slack the* 
lime in boiling water, and to 3 gallons ordinary whitewash add 1 
pint molasses and 1 pint table salt. Stir the mixture frequently 
while putting it on. Two thin coats are sufficient. 

To Mix Whitewash. —Pour boiling water on unslacked 
lime, and stir it occasionally while it is slacking, as it will make 
the paste smoother. To 1 peck of lime add 1 quart of salt, 
and \ ounce of indigo dissolved in water, or the same quantity 
of Prussian blue finely powdered; add water to make it the 
proper thickness to put on a wall. One pound soap will give 
gloss. 

To Whiten Smoked Walls. —A method of cleaning 
and whitening smoked walls consists, in the first place, of rub¬ 
bing off all the black, loose dirt upon them, by means of a 
broom, and then washing them down with a strong soda lye, 
which is to be afterward removed by means of water to which a 
little hydrochloric acid has been added. When the walls are 
dry a thin coating of lime, with the addition of a solution of 
alum, is to be applied. After this has become perfectly dry the 
walls are to be kalso mined or coated with a solution of glue and 
chalk. 

To Prevent Whitewash Rubbing Off.— Alum is one 
of the best additions to make whitewash of lime which will 

33 


522 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


not rub off. When powdered chalk is used, glue water is also 
good, but would not do for outside work much exposed to 
rain. Nothing is easier than to.give it any desired color by 
small quantities of lampblack, brown sienna, ochre, or other 
coloring material. 

For Papering Whitewashed Walls. —Make flour starch 

as you would for starching calico clothes, and with a whitewash 
brush, wet the wall you wish to paper, with the starch; let it 
dry ; then, when you wish to apply the paper, wet the wall and 
paper both with the starch and apply the paper. When you 
wish to paper the wall, wet the paper with the brush with clean 
water and it will come off readily. 

MEASURING JOINERS’ WORK. 

This branch of work is measured and estimated by the super¬ 
ficial foot. 

Floors are measured by the square of 100 feet. 

Borders to hearths, mitred, at per foot lineal. 

The value of every kind of framing must depend on the thick¬ 
ness of the stuff, whether it is plain or molded, and upon the 
number of panels in a given height and breadth, and also on the 
form of the plan. 

Wainscotting, window linings, as backs and elbows ; door lin¬ 
ings, such as jambs and soffits ; back linings, partitions, doors, 
shutters, and the like, are all measured and valued by the super¬ 
ficial foot. 

Skylights, the prices whereof depend on their plans and eleva¬ 
tions, are measured by the superficial foot. 

Framed grounds, by the foot run. 

In the measurement of stair-cases and all irregular work, there 
are special rules governing. 

Ornamental cornice work commands extra price, and circular 
ornamentation twice the price of straight of the same descrip¬ 
tion. 

Outside work, as cement or mastic, measured same as plaster¬ 
ing, but no openings deducted. 

Shingling is usually estimated by the square. Pine shingles 
are usually made to average 16 inches long, and are of various 
widths, although supposed to average about four inches. A thou- 


TRADE AND MECHANISM. 


523 


sand shingles, laid 4J inches to the weather, cover a square, or 
10 superficial feet. 

PAINTERS’ WORK. 

Rules of Measurement.— For painting outside walls, 
whether brick or frame, make the measurement the same as fox- 
plastering, and deduct i of the openings. 

Blinds, 1^ measurements; lattice work, from 1£ to 3 times. 

Plain cornices, to measure 1J; but if block and dentil, or 
otherwise ornamented, from 1^ to 5 measui-ements. 

Sashes to measure solid if of one color. 

Edges to shelves, 3 times. 

Balusters, 1| to 3 measurements. 

Iron railings for porches, fences and verandas, to measure from 
1 \ to 4 measurements. 

Fluted columns, 1| times the flutes to be measured. 

Caps and bases to columns, from 2 to 5 measurements. 

Quoins and coi-ner stones, 1£ to 2 measurements. 

Paling fences, 1* to 3 measurements. 

Mantles, measured solid, from 2 to 3 measurements. 

Stair strings, 2 measurements when plain ; but if bracketed or 
otherwise ornamented, 3 measui-ements. 

Mixing Paint for Oil Colors. —In mixing different 
colored paints to produce any desired tint, it is best to have the 
principal ingredient thick, and add to it the other paints thin¬ 
ner. In the following list of the combinations of colors needed 
to produce a required tint, the first named color is the principal 
ingredient, and the others follow in the order of their impor¬ 
tance. Thus, in mixing a limestone tint, white is the principal 
ingredient, and red the color of which least is needed, etc.; the 
exact proportions of each depending on the shade of color 
required. 

List of compound colors, showing the simple colors which pro¬ 
duce them : 

Buff : White, yellow ochre, red. 

Chestnut : Red, black, yellow. 

Chocolate : Raw umber, red, black. 

Claret : Red, umber, black. 

Copper : Red, yellow, black. 

Dove ; White, vermillion, blue, yellow. 


524 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


Drab : White, yellow ochre, red, black. 

Fawn : White, yellow, red. 

Flesh : White, yellow ochre, vermillion. 

Freestone : Red, black, yellow ochre, white. 

French Gray : White, Prussian blue, lake. 

Gray : White lead, black. 

Gold : White, stone ochre, red. 

Green Bronze : Chrome, green, black, yellow. 

Green Pea : White, chrome green. 

Lemon : White, chrome yellow. 

Limestone : White, yellow ochre, black, red. 

Olive : Yellow, blue, black, white. 

Orange : Yellow, red. 

Peach : White, vermillion. 

Pearl : White, black, blue. 

Pink : White, vermillion, lake. 

Purple : Violet, with more red and white. 

Rose : White, madder lake. 

Sandstone : White, yellow ochre, black, red. 

Snuff : Yellow, Vandyke brown. 

Violet : Red, blue, white. 

To Make Paint Without Oil or Lead. —Whiting, 5 ; 
pounds ; skimmed milk, 2 quarts ; fresh slacked lime, 2 ounces. 
Put the lime into a stoneware vessel, pour upon it a sufficient 
quantity of the milk to make a mixture resembling cream; the 
balance of the milk is then to be added ; and lastly the whiting 
is to be crumbled upon the surface of the fluid, in which it 
gradually sinks. At this period it must be well stirred in, or 
ground as you would other paint, and it is fit for use. There 
may be added any coloring matter that suits the fancy, to be ap¬ 
plied in the same manner as other paints, and in a few hours it 
will become perfectly dry. Another coat may then be added, 
and so on until the work is done. This paint is of great tenac¬ 
ity, bears rubbing with a coarse cloth, has little smell, even when 
wet, and when dry is inodorous. It also possesses the merit of 
cheapness, the above quantity being sufficient for 57 yards. 

To Remove the Smell of New Paint. —Hay sprinkled 
with a little chloride of lime, and left for an hour in a closed, 
room, will remove the smell of new paint. 


TRADE AND MECHANISM. 


525 


Fire-Proof Paint for Roofs, Etc. —Slack stone-lime 
“by putting it into a tub, to be covered, to keep in the steam. 
When slacked, pass the powder through a fine sieve; and to 
each 6 quarts of it add 1 quart of rock salt, and 1 gallon of wa¬ 
ter ; then boil and skim clean. To each 5 gallons of this add 
pulverized alum, 1 pound ; pulverized copperas, \ pound; and 
still slowly add powdered potash, f pound; and then fine sand, 
or hickory ashes, 4 pounds. 

Now add any desired color, and apply with a brush ; looks bet¬ 
ter than paint, and is as durable as slate. It stops small leaks in 
roofs, prevents moss, and makes wood incombustible ; and renders 
brick impervious to wet. 

Water-Proof Oil-Rubber Paint. — Dissolve about 5 
pounds of India rubber in 1 gallon of boiled linseed oil, by 
boiling. If this is too thick, reduce with boiled oil; if too thin, 
use more rubber. 

To Remove Putty from Glass. —Dip a small brush in 
nitric or muriatic acid, and with it paint over the dry putty 
that adheres to the broken glasses and frames of the win¬ 
dows. After an hour’s interval the putty will have become so 
soft as to be easily removable. 

For Removing Old Putty. —For removing hard putty 
from a window-sash, take a square piece of iron, make the same 
red-hot, and run it along the putty till it gets soft. The putty 
will peel oft without injuring the wood-work. Concentrated lye 
made of lime and alkali, as per next recipe, will affect the wood 
and make it rot quicker. 

To Soften Putty in Window Frames.— To soften 
putty in window frames, so that the glass may be taken out with¬ 
out breakage or cutting, take 1 pound pearlash, 3 pounds quick 
stone lime, slack the lime in water, then add the pearlash, and 
make the whole about the consistence of paint. Apply it to 
both sides of the glass, and let it remain for 12 hours, when the 
putty will be so softened that the glass may be taken out of the 
frame without being cut, and with the greatest facility. 

To Remove Paint from Old Work. —To destroy paint 
on old doors, etc., lay the mixture in the last recipe over the 
whole body of the work which is required to be cleaned, with 
.an old brush (as it will spoil a new one); let it remain for 12 


526 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

or 14 hours, when the paint can be easily scraped off. These 
two recipes have been used by a practical painter and glazier for 
years. 

To Remove Paint from Stone. — Common washing 
soda, dissolved in boiling water, and applied hot, say 3 pounds 
of soda to a gallon of water, laid on with a common paint brush, 
it is said softens the paint in a short time, so that it is easily re¬ 
moved with a stiff scrubbing-brush; adding a few ounces of 
potash to the solution, it acts more readily than with soda only. 

To Soften Hard Putty. — Break the putty in lumps 
of the size of a hen's egg, add a small portion of linseed oil, and 
water sufficient to cover the putty; boil this in an iron vessel for 
about 10 minutes, and stir it when hot. The oil will mix with 
the putty. Then pour the water off, and it will be like fresh, 
made. 

To Pencil Brick Work. —The upright as well as the 
horizontal lines should be drawn with a straight edge, as the 
least want of uniformity spoils the appearance of the brick 
work. White lead mixed with turpentine, and thick enough to* 
set firm, is the best for this purpose. 

Colorless Varnish. —Dissolve 2J ounces of shellac in a 
pint of alcohol (proof spirits); boil for a few minutes with 5 
ounces of well burned and recently heated bone charcoal. A 
small portion of the solution should then be filtered, and if not. 
colorless, more charcoal must be added. When all color is removed, 
press the liquor through a piece of silk, and afterward filter 
through fine blotting paper. This kind of varnish should be 
used in a room of at least 60 degrees Fahr., perfectly free from 
dust. It dries in a few minutes, and is not liable afterward to 
chill or bloom. It is particularly applicable to drawings and 
prints that have been sized, and may be used for gilding. 

To Make Putty. —Putty is made of common whitening, 
pounded very fine, and mixed with linseed oil till it becomes 
about the thickness of dough. 

Simple Method of Cutting Glass. —Scratch the glass 
around the shape you desire with the corner of a file or 
graver; then, having bent a piece of wire to the same shape, 
heat it red hot and lay it upon the scratch, and sink the glass into-' 


TRADE AND MECHANISM. 527 

cold water just deep enough for the water to come almost on a 
level with its upper surface. 

To Shape Glass Vessels —Dip a piece of worsted thread 
in spirits of turpentine, wrap it round the glass in the di¬ 
rection required to be broken, and then set fire to the thread, 
or apply a red hot wire round the glass ; if it does not immedi¬ 
ately crack, throw cold water on it while the wire remains hot. 
By this means glass vessels that have been broken may often be 
fashioned and rendered useful for a variety of purposes. 

How to Use Glue, —In general, nothing more is neces¬ 
sary to glue a joint, after the joint is made perfectly straight, 
than to glue both edges while the glue is quite hot, and rub them 
lengthwise until it has nearly set. When the wood is spongy, 
or sucks up the glue, another method must be adopted—one 
which stregthens the joint, while it does away with the necessity 
of using the glue too thick, which should always be avoided; 
for the less glue there is in contact with the joints, provided 
they touch, the better; and when the glue is thick, it chills 
quickly, and cannot be well rubbed out from between the joints. 
The method is, to rub the joints on the edge with a piece of 
soft chalk, and, wiping it so as to take off any lumps, glue it in 
the usual manner; and it will be found, when the wood is por¬ 
ous, to hold much faster than if used without chalking. 

The Time to Paint. —There is no better time to paint 
buildings than during the pleasant days in winter. Paint spread 
in cold weather makes a better covering for the wood than if 
laid on when the wood is hot and excessively dry, so that the oil 
is immediately absorbed, leaving the lead or other material used 
as a chalky substance on the surface, ready in a few months to 
rub off or be washed by rains. It will require a little more paint 
at a single coat in cold than in warm weather, as the oil will be 
thickened a little by the cold, but then it will stay where it is 
put, and a second coat will be less needed. Besides, the newly 
painted surfaces will not become defaced by dust and insects. 

Iron to Paint Iron —The oxides of copper and lead 
for painting iron work are said to corrode the iron. It is not 
unlikely that this corrosion arises from the galvanic action of 
different kinds of metal in contact. For this reason the oxides 
of iron are recommended for painting iron surfaces, and also 
as being cheaper than lead. 


523 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

Bronzing for Iron or Wood. —First, make a black 
paint; then put in a little chrome yellow, only sufficient to 
give it a dark-green shade ; apply a coat of this to the article to 
be bronzed ; when dry, give it a coat of varnish ; and when the 
varnish is a little dry, dust on bronze by dipping a piece of vel¬ 
vet into the bronze and shaking it upon the varnish ; then give 
it another coat of varnish, and when dry, all is complete. 

Cast-iron bells, which are now being extensively introduced to 
the farming community, will be much improved in their appear¬ 
ance by the bronzing, and also protected from rust, without 
injury to the sound. Iron fences around yards, porches, veran¬ 
das, etc., will be much improved by it. It may also be applied 
to wood, if desired. 

Turpentine—Caution. —Painters should seldom wash their 
hands in turpentine, as the practice, if persisted in, will lead 
to the most serious results, even to the loss of power in the 
wrist joints. It has a tendency to enlarge the finger joints, ren¬ 
ders the hands more sensitive to cold in winter, and lays the 
foundation of rheumatism and diseases of the kidneys. 

LEATHER AND TANNING. 

Treatment of Harness. —The practice of washing har¬ 
ness in warm water and with soap is very damaging. If a coat of 
oil is put on immediately after washing the damage is repaired. 
No harness is ever so soiled that a damp sponge will not remove the 
dirt; but, even when the sponge is applied, it is always useful 
to add a slight coat of oil by the use of another sponge. All var¬ 
nishes, and all blacking containing the properties of varnish 
should be avoided. Ignorant and indolent ostlers are apt to use 
such substances on their harness as will give the most immediate 
effect, and these, as a general thing, are most destructive to the 
leather. 

Care and Preservation of Harness.— In the first 
place, subject the harness to one or two coats (as the leather 
may need) of lampblack and castor oil, warmed sufficiently to 
make it penetrate the leather readily. Then make about 2 
quarts of warm soapsuds, and with a sponge wash the harness. 
When dry, rub it over with a mixture of oil and tallow, equal 
parts, with sufficient lampblack to give it color; or, what is 
better, Prussian blue, which gives it a new and fresh look. This 


TRADE AND MECHANISM. 


529 


compound should be applied sparingly and well rubbed in, which 
can be quickly done, and will leave a smooth and clean surface. 

Surface Finish for Harness. —When harness becomes 
rusty and turns brown, which almost any leather will do after 
long exposure to the air, it should be given a new coat of grain 
black. Before using this grain black, the grain surface should 
be well washed with potash water until the old grease is decom¬ 
posed, and after the application of the grain black, oil and 
tallow should be applied to the surface. This will not only 
fasten the color, but make the leather flexible. Harness which 
is grained can be cleaned with kerosene or spirits of turpentine. 

The Best Oils for Leather, —To restore the softness 
and pliancy of leather which has become hard by having 
been wet, apply neat’s-foot-oil and rub it in. Castor oil is a 
good substitute for neat’s-foot-oil for softening leather belts, 
boots and harness. But the best oil for harness is 1 quart neat’s- 
foot-oil, 4 ounces beefs tallow, and 3 tablespoonfuls lampblack ; 
add 4 ounces beeswax for use in warm weather. 

Water-Proof Blacking for Harness. —Melt 1 pound 
beeswax, 1 ounce Prussian blue ground in 2 ounces linseed oil, \ 
pound ivory black, 6 ounces oil of turpentine, 4 ounces soft 
soap, and 1 ounce copal varnish ; put in pots or tins for use. 

To Apply Harness Blacking.— Spread a very little of the 
blacking evenly on the surface of the leather, and polish by 
gentle friction with a brush or an old handkerchief. Paste 
blacking should be thinned with water. 

Day and Martin’s Shoe Blacking. —Bone-black in a 
state of powder is mixed with sperm oil until the two are thor¬ 
oughly incorporated. Sugar or molasses is then mixed with a 
.small portion of vinegar and added to the mass. Oil of vitriol 
is next added, and when all effervescence has ceased, more vine¬ 
gar is poured in until the mixture is of a proper consistency. 
This constitutes the liquid blacking of the above named manu¬ 
facturers. 

To Keep Shoes Soft. —Kid shoes can be kept soft and 
free from cracks by rubbing them once a week with glycer¬ 
ine or castor oil. Castor oil is also among the best applications 
for leather shoes or boots of any kind. 


530 


PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 


Lustre for Harness —Two ounces mutton suet, 6 ounces*- 
"beeswax, 6 ounces powdered sugar candy, 2 ounces soft soap, and 
1 ounce indigo or lampblack. Dissolve the soap in \ pint of 
water ; then add the other ingredients ; melt and mix together 
add a gill of turpentine. Lay it on the harness with a sponge, 
and polish off with a brush. 

Water Proofing for Boots. —Beef tallow, 4 ounces; resin, 
1 ounce ; beeswax, 1 ounce; melt together. Add, when cold, 
a quantity of neat’s-foot-oil equal to the mass. Apply with 
a rag, warming the boots before a fire, to the soles as well as up¬ 
pers, and rub in well with the hand. Two applications will make 
the boots thoroughly water-proof and still keep them soft. The 
tendency, however, in any water-proof preparations applied to 
boots is to prevent the perspiration from escaping, and keep the- 
feet wet and cold. 

Another Method. —Put 1 pound of tallow and J pound 
of resin in a pot on the fire; when melted and mixed, warm the 
boots and apply the hot stuff with a painter’s brush until neither 
the sole nor the upper will soak in any more. If it is desired 
that the boots should immediately take a polish, dissolve 1 ounce 
of wax in spirits of turpentine, to which add a teaspoonful of 
lamp black. A day after the boots have been treated with the- 
tallow and resin, rub over them this wax in turpentine, but not 
before the fire. Thus the exterior will have a coat of wax alone, 
and will shine like a mirror. Tallow or any other grease becomes 
rancid, and rots the stitching as well as the leather, but the resin 
gives it that antiseptic quality which preserves the whole. Boots 
and shoes should be made so large as to admit of wearing cork 
soles, and also to allow for a little shrinkage in using this prep¬ 
aration. Cork is such a non-conductor of heat that with it in 
the boots, the feet are always warm on the coldest stone floor. 

To Tan Deer Skins—The Indian Way.— The skin if 
green is all right; if dry, it should be thoroughly soaked. Then 
flesh the skins by removing any adhering bits of flesh or fat. 
Next prepare a liquid by putting a quart of lime into a bucket 
of water; put the skins in and let soak until the hair is well 
loosened ; it may require three or four days, but they should be 
tested sooner and not kept in the liquid longer than is neces¬ 
sary. Some wood ashes may be added to the lime solution, or 
ashes alone will answer. Or instead of the solution, wet the 


TRADE AND MECHANISM!. 


531 


lime and ashes like a paste, spread it on the flesh side of the 
skins, and roll them up. The hair being loosened, remove it by 
means of a graining knife, which may be made with an old case 
knife with its back stuck in a stick or handle, or an old chop¬ 
ping knife, dulled, or a piece of the blade of a hoe or shovel. 
Then turn the skin over and grain the flesh side with the same- 
tool, laying it on a smooth log for the purpose ; then throw the 
skin over the oval end of a board held upright, or over a smooth, 
round pole, and chafe and rub it until nearly dry. Take the 
brains of a deer or calf, dry by the fire gently, put them into a 
cloth and boil until soft, cool off the liquid until blood-warm by 
adding cold water, soak the skin in it until quite soft and plia¬ 
ble, then wring out as dry as possible, wash in strong soapsuds 
and rub dry, and smoke well with wood smoke. It is well to¬ 
mb the skins frequently during the process of smoking. Instead 
of the brains, oil or lard may be used, soaking the skin therein 
for 6 or 8 hours. 

Tanning Deer and Woodchuck Skins. —Prepare the 
skin according to the recipe for preparing deer skins. Then 
take oil of vitriol 1 ounce, salt 1 pint, milk 3 quarts; mix. 
Now dip the skin in warm rain water, having sufficient sale- 
ratus in it to make it rather strong, and work and squeeze it 
well for a few minutes, then wring dry as convenient and put 
it into the vitriol mixture for 50 minutes, stirring all the time; 
now wring out and soak a while ; and finally dry and work un¬ 
til soft. 

To Tan Skins with the Fur on.— After having cut 
off the useless parts, and softened the skin by soaking, re¬ 
move the fatty matter from the inside and soak it in warm water 
for an hour. Next, mix equal parts of borax, saltpetre, and 
glauber salts (sulphate of soda), in the proportion of about \ 
ounce of each for each skin, with sufficient water to make a thin 
paste; spread this with a brush over the inside of the skin, ap¬ 
plying more on the thicker parts than on the thinner ; double 
the skin together, flesh side inwards, and place it in a cool 
place. After standing 24 hours, wash the skin clean, and ap¬ 
ply, in the same manner as before, a mixture of 1 ounce sal soda, 

\ ounce borax, and 2 ounces hard white soap, melted slowly 
together without being allowed to boil; fold together again and 
put away in a warm place for 24 hours. After this, dissolve 4 


532 PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY AND TRAFFIC. 

ounces alum, 8 ounces salt, and 2 ounces saleratus, in sufficient 
hot rain water to saturate the skin; when cool enough not to 
scald the hands, soak the skin in it for 12 hours; then wring 
out and hang it up to dry. When dry repeat this soaking and 
drying 2 or 3 times, till the skin is sufficiently soft. Lastly, 
smooth the inside with fine sand paper and pumice stone. 

Sheep Skin Mats. —Sheep skins tanned with the wool 
on make beautiful mats. Make a strong lather with hot water, 
and let it stand till cold; wash the fresh skin in it, carefully 
squeezing out all the dirt from the wool; wash it in cold water 
till all the soap is taken out. Dissolve a pound each of salt and 
alum in 2 gallons of hot'water, and put the skin into a tub suf¬ 
ficient to cover it; let it soak for 12 hours, and hang it over a 
pole to drain. When well drained, stretch it carefully on aboard 
to dry, and stretch several times while drying. Before it is 
quite dry, sprinkle on the flesh side 1 ounce each of fine pulver¬ 
ized alum and saltpetre, rubbing it in well. Try if the wool be 
firm on the skin; if not, let it remain a day or two, then rub 
again with alum; fold the flesh sides together and hang in the 
shade for two or three days, turning them over each day till 
quite dry. Scrape the flesh side with a blunt knife, and rub it 
with pumice or rotten stone. 

To Tan Small Skins. —When taken from the animal, 
let the skins be nailed in the shape of an oblong square on 
a board to dry, fur side down. Before taking them from the 
board, clean off all the fat or oily matter with a dull knife. Be 
careful not to cut the skins. When you wish to tan them, soak 
thoroughly in cold water until soft; then squeeze out the water, 
and take of soft water 3 quarts, salt pint, and best oil of vit¬ 
riol, 1 ounce. Stir well with a stick, and put in the skins quick¬ 
ly, and leave them in 30 minutes. Then take them in your hand 
and squeeze (not wring) them out, and hang in the shade, fur 
side down, to dry. If you get the quantity of liquor pro¬ 
portioned to the skin, they will need no rubbing to make them 
soft; and, tanned in this way, the moths will never disturb them. 













































1 







































































































































PART II—DIVISION III. 


SOCIETY AND THE WOULD AT LARGE. 


DEPORTMENT AND LETTER WRITING. 

A person who is naturally polite and refined will seldom com¬ 
mit any grievous error in deportment. It is no longer in good 
taste to be excessively formal, or if you fall into the Atlantic 
Ocean, to drown rather than be saved by a man to whom you 
have not been introduced. 

Vulgar people affect to despise the trivialties of social etiquette 
as something of no importance, but men of influence regard the 
smallest matter of personal deportment as worthy of their closest 
attention. Learning and intellect are of priceless value, but 
even the scholar and genius cannot afford to underrate the minor 
courtesies of social intercourse. And while true politeness is the 
native expression of a warm and generous heart, and the basis of 
all genuine culture, there are many social customs and usages 
which are purely conventional, and can only be acquired from 
books and from actual association with people of intelligence, re¬ 
finement and thorough cultivation. 

The rules of deportment that are most necessary to learn must 
"either be acquired early in life, or at a later period by a stern ex¬ 
perience involving many rebuffs at the hands of the public, which 
is a strong conserver of good manners. If a man or woman is 
so obtuse as to carry vulgar habits into good society, one thing 
is certain—good society will either make the individual over or 
expel him or her altogether. Well-bred people will not tolerate 

533 



.534 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

the rude and inquisitive. They are essentially good-natured If 
they will take the trouble to make them over. 

Tilting back in a chair is a vulgar attitude. There is a hotel 
in a western city which has adopted chairs of a peculiar fashion 
for its large, handsome office. They are handsomely upholstered 
and look like ordinary chairs, but the moment a guest tilts his 
chair back it turns forward and unceremoniously ejects him, so 
that if he would sit at all, he must sit like a gentleman. There 
used to be a practice among boys of using bear’s grease or po¬ 
matum for the hair. At the same time in every family sitting 
room distinguishing dark marks could be seen on the walls. 
These were made by the youths who tipped their chairs back and 
oiled the walls with their heads. In order to save their wall pa¬ 
pers the mothers inaugurated a reform. 

It is by no means necessary to go through the world with a 
constant series of ejaculations on hand, as some Americans do 
after a visit abroad, as: “ Beg pawdon ! Excuse me “ What, 
please?” and other set phrases which are mere exaggerations of 
politeness. 

The pump-handle process of shaking hands with everybody 
has largely gone out of style. In some sections of the country, 
however, it is a sort of welcome, a badge of hospitality, and as 
such must be respected. But a mere extension of a few fingers, 
or a listless offering of the hand, is as far from the proper act as 
a grasp that splits a glove and crushes a lady’s rings into the flesh 
of her hand. 

All habits of repression are valuable as a means of social and 
moral discipline. It is as impolite to lounge on chairs when 
other people are present as it is to yawn in their faces, offering 
them the hint that it is time to go home. It is impolite to 
breathe loud, to fidget, to scratch your head, pick your teeth, 
clean your nails, or shuffle your feet. It is abominable to blow 
your nose like a trumpet or clear your throat. People may not 
rise up in their wrath and tell you so, but they will remember 
all these things against you, and shun your company. 

Gentlemen are expected to be kind and courteous to ladies, 
and to give them all the advantage possible in their social ac¬ 
quaintance. A gentleman walking with a lady takes the outside 
of the walk to protect her from rude jolting; he precedes her 
in a crowd to open a way for her; he always precedes her in 


DEPORTMENT AND LETTER WRITING. 


535 


ascending a flight of stairs ; he hands her into a carnage before 
he enters himself; he waits on her first at table. On entering 
or leaving a room he follows her ; he lifts his hat on meeting a 
lady with whom he is acquainted. If he is walking with a gen* 
tleman who bows to ladies, he also lifts his hat, although he has 
never been introduced, and the same if he meets a gentleman 
friend with a lady; he does this from respect to his friend’s 
friends. He always modulates his voice respectfully in speaking 
to a lady. 

Everybody should be gentle and forbearing in associating 
with old people. They are often peevish and inconsiderate, but 
they have borne the heat and burden of the day, and are fast 
sinking under the infirmities of age. 

“ Speak gently to the aged one; 

Grieve not the careworn heart; 

The sands of life are nearly run, 

Let such in peace depart.” 

Treat all such with kindness and consideration, but do not let 
it be too apparent that it is from a sense of duty. The old have 
valuable knowledge to impart; all who live will one day be old. 

It is in these essentials of life, rather than in the Chesterfield- 
ian philosophy, that true politeness lies. The mere polish of 
deportment is not enough. It must begin with a good heart and 
a cultivated mind. It is well to bow gracefully and smile 
pleasantly, but a mere smiling and bowing machine would have 
little to recommend it. 

TABLE ETIQUETTE. 

A gentleman will not eat with his knife ; he will not blow in 
his soup to cool it; he will not extend his elbows into his 
neighbor's side ; he will not breathe into his glass, or smack his 
lips. A boor will do all of these things, and then roll his nap¬ 
kin into a ball and fling it under the table. A gentleman will 
take his wineglass by the stem and not by the bowl or stand; 
he will in fact show that he belongs to good society, and is not a 
novice in its ways. It is the “ loud "type of American who 
bawls and brawls at hotel tables, who is cited against us by for¬ 
eign writers as a specimen of the American people. 

Do not eat fast; do not fill the mouth very full; do not 
open the lips in the act of chewing; do not talk while food is in 


536 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

the mouth; do not cough, sneeze, or otherwise make unpleas¬ 
ant noises at the table; do not pick your teeth or put your fin¬ 
gers into your mouth at the table; do not lie back in your 
chair; do not place your elbows on the table; do not drum 
upon the table, nor sing, nor whistle; do not carry fruits or 
confectionery from the table ; do not leave the table with food 
in your mouth. 

Do not cut up your bread, nor spread large slices and bite 
from them; break your bread into pieces, buttering each as you 
eat it; do not cut butter from the general plate with your own 
knife, but use the butter knife ; do not help a person with your 
own fork or spoon ; do not ask for a special portion unless your 
choice is asked; on the other hand, the preference of every 
guest, and member of the family too, should be consulted; nap¬ 
kins should always be furnished and should be freely used ; do 
not overload a plate, and do not stint one at the table ; a bone 
may be held between the thumb and forefinger, but better cut 
the meat from it; corn on the cob may be eaten by holding the 
cob in one hand, never in both hands. 

Do not compel yourself to clean your plate every time ; some¬ 
thing may be left without impropriety; take the last piece of 
bread if you want it, there is more, doubtless; shirt sleeves, 
dirty hands, disheveled hair, etc., are all out of order; loud 
tones, angry discussion, authoritative orders, etc., are not in 
good taste ; avoid extravagant praise, or undue use of any dish 
on the table; do not talk about sicknesses, medicines, dyspep¬ 
sia, what does not agree with you, or any other unpleasant sub¬ 
ject while at the table ; do not drink from the saucer, but sip 
tea or coffee from the cup ; remove your knife and fork from the 
plate before passing it for a new supply; while sipping coffee or 
tea, when you pass your cup to be refilled, place the spoon in 
the saucer; do not leave the table before others, unless specially 
excused by the hostess, or host. 

INTRODUCTIONS. 

Do not presume that promiscuous introductions are agreeable. 
You should be sure that the parties to be introduced are at least 
willing to be made acquainted. The person of inferior rank 
should be presented to those of higher rank; the younger to' 


DEPORTMENT AND LETTER WRITING. 537 

those of superior age; and gentlemen to ladies in every case. 
No extended formula is necessary in introductions. A short, 
courteous presentation of one to the other is all that is needed. 
Nor should excessive adulation be indulged, or gushing expres¬ 
sions of pleasure, etc. When a famous person is introduced, a 
reference to his fame is not out of place. 

Because of an introduction, neither party should presume that 
the acquaintance shall be continued. That must depend on the 
encouragement in that direction, which either party may be 
pleased to give. A lady to whom you have been introduced may, 
at her option, omit to recognize you afterwards. This is no dis¬ 
courtesy. It is her proper privilege. 

In introducing parties, a formula entirely proper is: “Mr. 
Webb, permit me to introduce to you my friend, Mr. Carus.” 
Then, turning to the friend presented, add: “ Mr. Carus, my 
friend, Mr. Webb.” Gentlemen bow, and shake hands on an 
introduction. If introduced to a lady, let her make the advance' 
in the handshaking; and whether she extend her hand or not- 
the gentleman should bow more lowly than to one of his own ses* 

MAKING CALLS. 

“Morning calls”should be between noon and five o'clock. 

“ Evening calls” between seven and nine. “ Informal calls 31 
may continue until ten o’clock. Among intimate friends there 
are no absolute limits except those imposed by general propriety. 
Never weary the parties on whom you call. 

Cards used in calling should have nothing on them but the 
name and address of the caller. Their size, style, form, etc., 
are not under any fixed regulation, but all extremes should bo 
avoided. Titles of rank and profession should be prefixed to 
names, as also the ordinary title, Mr., Mrs., or Miss. Hon., His 
Excellency, etc., are titles bestowed by courtesy, and, therefore, 
are not assumed by individuals to whom others accord them. 
The address should be inconspicuously placed in a corner. A 
card left in person, or by a servant, is received in lieu of a call. 
It must not be sent by mail, however. The intention to make a 
personal call, if the family be absent, is indicated by turning 
down the corner. Persons calling should send a card up by the- 
servant, to avoid mistakes. 


538 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

Residents of a town make the first call on a new-comer. 

In calling upon any one at a hotel, remain in the parlor and 
send up your card. 

Short calls are always best. It is easy, however, to judge by 
the manner of persons on whom you call whether they are solic¬ 
itous to have you prolong your visit. 

Never take a pet dog with you when making a call. 

Dress simply for a morning call; ordinary street wear is suffi¬ 
cient. 

Gentlemen remove one glove, that of the right hand, upon 
entering, and keep their hats in their hands during the call. 

Never comment upon a person’s changed appearance in calling 
upon those you have not met for years. Probably you have 
changed also in the interim. 

CONDENSED LAWS OF ETIQUETTE. 

It is a gross offense against propriety, when in a railway car, 
to talk so loud as to be heard beyond the seat occupied by the 
person, or if talking to a person in the next seat beyond the seat 
thus occupied; or when the car is not in motion, to read aloud. 
Every occupant of a seat practically owns, for the time being, 
the breadth of the seat, from the floor to the ceiling, and is as 
justly entitled to exemption from annoyance by others, so far as 
practicable, as if in his own house. The passengers in a car 
necessarily breathe the air in common, and each must submit to 
whatever annoyance may arise from the ordinary movements and 
conversation of all, but beyond this no person has a right to ob¬ 
trude himself upon the others. 

There are many other points of etiquette in railway travel; 
and it would seem, indeed, that the railway car ought to be a 
school of politeness, whereas it is in too many cases nothing 
short of a place for the display of a constitutional hoggishness. 

In making a bow do not degenerate into a dancing-jack. A 
reserved, dignified bow is preferable to one of studied formality, 
like that of a master of ceremonies. 

Politeness requires you to return a salute even though you do 
not remember the parties bowing. 

Never call out to friends across a street, or recognize them 
loudly in public places. 


DEPORTMENT AND LETTER WRITING. 539 

Never use names in conversation in street cars or omnibusses, 
or at hotel tables. 

It is not permissible for a gentleman to press a lady’s hand 
when he shakes hands with her, except in a case where she has 
suffered a bereavement. It may be done then to convey a deli¬ 
cate sympathy. 

No gentleman will stop a lady on the street and keep her 
standing while he converses with her. He will enquire which 
way she is going, and if she seems desirous of his company, will 
walk with her a short distance. 

A gentleman will never smoke when walking with ladies. 

Ladies should not recognize gentlemen acquaintances who 
stand on corners and steps to watch them pass. 

Be fastidious both in dress and deportment when on the prom¬ 
enade. 

Walking dress for ladies and business suits for gentlemen are 
the recognized conventionalities of outdoor dress at the present 
time. 

Be not too familiar in conversation on the street, or so loud as 
to attract unfavorable comment from parties who do not know 
you. 

Do not point out a person’s defects nor laugh at or augment 
their misfortunes; do not pry into or be inquisitive about the 
affairs of other people; do not scold, nor give way to temper ; 
return all favors cheerfully and grant them whenever possible ; 
private affairs and family affairs are not fit subjects for general 
remark or conversation; servants, domestic trials, the weather, 
shopping, etc., are “ small talk,” and should be avoided in com¬ 
pany ; scandals, murders, etc., are low topics of converse. 

Ladies should not lounge, nor stand with arms akimbo, or 
folded, nor do heroic or masculine acts in company; cultivate 
friendships; domineer over nobody; never notice scars or de¬ 
formities in others; never cast side glances, cough, nudge a 
neighbor, or otherwise attract attention of one to the exclusion 
of others ; do not question children about affairs in their homes; 
talk little of yourself and your doings; do not associate with 
low company, none at all is far better; do not be familiar on 
slight acquaintance ; regard the rights of other persons scrupu¬ 
lously as you would your own. 

Do not occupy more room than rightly belongs to you in pub- 


540 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


lie places, street cars, etc.; do not fill the aisle of a car with your 
bundles, nor by projecting your feet; do not spit on floors where 
the clothing of others may be soiled ; do not smoke to the annoy¬ 
ance of others; loud talking in any public place is a mark of 
low breeding; answer all civil questions civilly, no matter by 
whom asked; never speak ill of a lady; ladies should not com¬ 
ment on other ladies in the presence of gentlemjen ; never mani¬ 
fest impatience by tapping with the foot, looking from the win¬ 
dow, drumming with the fingers, etc. 

Ladies should not accept expensive gifts from gentlemen, ex¬ 
cept they be engaged for marriage ; flowers, fruits, confectionery, 
books, and music are always allowable ; do not eat on the streets • 
gentlemen will surrender seats to ladies under ordinary circum¬ 
stances ; ladies will thank gentlemen for this courtesy; ladies 
will accommodate other ladies to the full extent of ability. 

Never dispute a bill in the presence of company. 

Never quarrel over the hire of a carriage or the price of theatre 
tickets when you take a lady out. 

Regulate all those things before hand, or pay the price with¬ 
out demonstration of any kind. 

A gentleman will not, under any circumstances, go out be¬ 
tween the acts at a theatre when he is escorting a lady. 

Do not laugh at smart things you say yourself. Avoid a habit 
of punning. Do not tell long, prosy stories. 

Avoid giving advice. If you have a cough do not annoy other 
people by forcing your prescriptions upon them. 

It is rude and disagreeable to make personal remarks, even 
when they are of a complimentary nature. Admiration should 
be conveyed by insinuation or in a general way, not by broad 
speech. 

It is very improper to ask your friend what he paid for his 
house and lot, horse, or other property, or what his income is. 
Curiosity upon any subject is essentially common and vulgar. 

It is not polite to open and read letters in the presence of com¬ 
pany. If they must be read, excuse yourself and return to the 
library or room adjoining. 

Never read other people's letters unless especially requested 
to do so, and not then if you know they refer to domestic 
matters. 

Avoid taking sides in a personal matter, and do not discuss 


DEPORTMENT AND LETTER WRITING, 541 

the domestic life and habits of your friends with others who are 
not acquainted with them. 

If you are on familiar terms with a friend and his family, it is 
proper to inquire after his family when you meet him; but, 

If not thus familiar, never inquire of a man about his family ; 
you have no means of knowing what social disaster may have 
befallen him which would make your inquiry painful; besides, 
for other reasons, there is nothing in your relations to justify 
such an inquiry. 

Use good English and avoid slang as you would a pestilence. 
To ape the manners of a lady or gentleman and use the slang of 
the stable and kitchen is an unpardonable offense to good 
breeding. 

Be polite ; be courteous ; be gentle ; be helpful. The essence 
of true politeness consists in the observance of the golden rule : 
“ Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

In driving, turn to the right when you meet another team. 
In walking in town, keep the right hand side of the walk. 
Always “keep to the right.” 

HINTS ON LETTER WRITING. 

The letters used in commencing sentences and proper names 
are called “ capitals,” and among printers they are called “ caps,” 
for short. The word capital means literally the head, or the 
first in importance. It has many cognates, all, however, signi¬ 
fying substantially the same. The capital of a country means 
the seat of government, the head ; or, if we speak of “the com¬ 
mercial capital ” of a country, we imply the city first in commer¬ 
cial importance. “A capital article ” means an article standing 
at the head. A “capital offense” means an offense subjecting 
the person to the death penalty, or loss of his head ; or, possibly, 
an offense against the head of the nation or state. A capitation 
tax is a tax levied upon persons, or so much per head. The 
words cap, caption, chapeau, chapter, captain, etc., all spring 
from the same root, “caput,” or head. A “capital letter” 
therefore means literally the first letter, or the letter at the head 
or beginning. “ Small Caps,” so called among printers, are of 
the same form as capitals, but have a smaller face. The case 
used by printers in type-setting is in two parts, called “upper” 


542 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

and “lower" case. The capitals and small caps are kept in the 
upper case, and the letters that are usually called “common 39 
letters are kept in the lower case; they are hence officinally 
known as “ lower case ” letters. 

The following rules for the use of capital letters will be of 
service to writers, as the accuracy with which they are used will 
be evidence of the grade of intelligence of the writer; or more 
properly, the want of accuracy will be evidence of a certain want 
of intelligence. 

1. Every sentence, or expression which stands for a sentence, 
should begin with a capital. 

2. Names of persons, including the surname or family name, 
as well as the first name, should begin with a capital. 

3. Names of places should begin with a capital. If the name 
consists of more than one word, each word should begin with a 
capital. 

4. Names of nations should begin with a capital. Also words 
derived from the names of nations, as Americanize, Roman, etc. 

5. Names of rivers, mountains, oceans, etc., should begin with 
a capital. 

6. Names of sects or denominations should begin with a cap¬ 
ital. 

7. Names of political parties should begin with a capital. 

8. Names of associations, fraternities, societies, etc., should 
begin with a capital. Each word in these titles, as in proper 
names, comes under the same rule. 

9. Names of months, days and festal times should begin with 
a capital. The names of the seasons, as, spring, summer, etc., 
should not begin with capitals, except where they begin sen¬ 
tences. 

10. Titles of books, and all the important words in such titles, 
should begin with a capital. Titles of essays, or newspaper arti¬ 
cles, come under the same rule. 

11. Titles of respect or honor, as, Mr., Miss, Mrs., Master, 
Prof., Dr., Esq., etc., should begin with a capital. When these 
words are not used as titles or as abbreviations of titles, they 
should commence with small letters. 

12. Titles of endearment or relationship, when used before 
the names to which they refer, should begin with capitals. 


DEPORTMENT AND LETTER WRITING. 


543 


When used as introductory in letters, they should begin with 
capitals. 

13. All personified words should begin with capitals. 

14. The pronoun 1 and the interjection 0 should always be 
capitals, and Oh should always begin with one. 

15. All abbreviations, used in place of words which require 
capitals, should also begin with capitals. 

16. In all resolutions, the word That , following the word Re¬ 
solved , should begin with a capital. 

17. Every broken line, as in the address and signature of let¬ 
ters, should begin with capitals, as should the chief words of 
such lines. 

18. Every direct quotation should begin with a capital. 

19. Every line of poetry should begin with a capital. 

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS. 

Letters should always be written in a neat and distinct hand. 
Sentences should be constructed with care, so that the meaning 
will be clear beyond a question. 

Gummed envelopes are now accepted everywhere, and yet a 
neat seal of red wax for a gentleman, and of gold or other fancy 
color for a lady, are appropriate, and give finish to a note. 

Letters of introduction or recommendation should never be 
sealed. 

In letters of business or ceremony, do not write on both sides 
of the sheet. 

Letters of compliment should always be written in the third 
person. 

Do not send a blotted sheet, or one having erasures and cor¬ 
rections, even though you should have to re-write. 

Never write letters on scraps of papey, and always write with 
ink. 

Do not be abrupt, and do not enlarge on your own misfortunes 
or ills. 

Make your letters cheerful and promotive of good will. 
Coarse and ill-tempered letters injure the writer more than the 
receiver. 

To send an anonymous letter should be regarded as too mean 
and cowardly for any gentleman, or lady, to countenance. 

Paper may be either ruled or plain, but the latter is the more 


544 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

elegant. In writing upon it, however, the parellelism of lines 
should not be disregarded. 

Letters on one’s own affairs should always contain a stamp for 
return postage. Or enclose a stamped and addressed envelope. 

Every letter should be dated carefully and distinctly, should 
bear the address of the writer, and should have the writer’s name 
signed in full. 

A married lady should invariably, except in her most familiar 
missives, prefix “ Mrs.” to her name. 

Letter paper and envelopes should correspond in color and 
quality. 

Persons in mourning usually write letters on mourning sta¬ 
tionery. 

White should be used when addressing a lady. 

Good black ink is always preferable. Colored inks are in bad 
taste. Take care to affix the proper amount of postage, and in 
the proper place, and not awry, parallel to the ends of the enve¬ 
lope. 

When it is desired to have letters returned in case of non-de¬ 
livery, the name and address of sender should be printed in the 
upper left-hand corner, with request to that effect. 

ADDRESSES AND SIGNATURES. 

The President of the United States should be addressed, on 
the envelope, thus: 

To The President: 

Executive Mansion, 

Washington, D. C. 

At the head of the letter, he should be addressed: 

Mr. President: 

Military and naval officers should be addressed, on the envel¬ 
ope, by their full and correct title; at the head of the letter by 
the title simply; as, 

General: 

All such official letters should have the full address of the 
party to whom they are written, in the lower left-hand corner; 
as, 

To General W. S. Hancock, U. S. A., 

Washington, D. C. 


DEPORTMENT AND LETTER WRITING. 


545 


In business letters, the best usage gives the name, title, and 
the business place or residence, at the beginning of a letter thus : 


Santa Barbara, Cal., July 1, 1884. 

Messrs. Reddington & Co., 

San Francisco, Cal.: 

Gentlemen: —Inclosed find check for one thousand dollars, which please 
place to my credit, on account. 


Truly yours, 

W. R. Merwin. 


The chief title of the person addressed should be given as a 
part of the address ; as Dr., Colonel, etc. 

In addressing married ladies, “ Mrs.” should be prefixed to 
the name ; “ Miss ” to the name of unmarried ladies. Men 
without professional or honorary titles may have “ Mr.” prefixed 
to their names. A lad may be addressed as “ Master.” 

Judges, members of Congress, mayors, and other high officers 
of government, have the title of “ Hon. ; ” Governors of States 
and Territories that of “ His Excellency.” 

In what is called the secondary address of a letter, that is, in 
the general title bestowed upon the party addressed, there is a 
wide range for the use of good taste. Familiarity is to be 
shunned on the one side, and formality on the other. Care 
should be exercised to avoid blunders in addresses, like addressing 
married ladies as “ Miss,” or any lady as “ Dear Sir.” The more 
common secondary addresses’are such as Sir, Dear Sir, My Dear 
Sir, Gentlemen, Dear Sirs, Honored Sir, Dear Judge, Dear Gen¬ 
eral, Dear Madam, etc. Many good writers omit the secondary 
.address when writing to unmarried ladies. 

In titles of endearment a wide diversity is permitted by the 
best writers, such as “ Dear Friend,” “ My Dear Friend,” “ Dear 
Sue,” “My Very Dear Mother,” “Dear Miss Jones,” etc., etc. 

Secondary addresses are placed on the line next below the name 
of the party addressed. 

Signatures should always be full and clear. Ladies writing 
to strangers should prefix “Mrs.” or “Miss” to their names, in 
order to avoid errors. 


FORM OF LETTERS. 

Business Letters should be direct and brief. If clearness 
demands extended statement do not hesitate to give it; but re- 


546 SOCIETY AND TIIE WORLD AT LARGE. 

member that business men must economize time. Copies should 
be kept of all business letters. 

Letters of Recommendation’ should be given cautiously. 
They should be both clear and candid. If a party is not worthy 
of a commendation, do not seem to commend by ambiguous 
phrases. A party may be commended for one quality, and not 
for others. Say what you mean or say nothing. 

Letters of Introduction should be given only where one is 
sure that it will prove mutually agreeable. It is a discourtesy to 
impose a man upon an unwilling friend. 

Letters of Congratulation should be far more frequent 
than they are. Let them deal with the one subject only, even 
if another letter follow on other matters at once. Any event, 
presumably pleasant, which occurs to your friend, justifies a let¬ 
ter of congratulation. 

Letters of Advice should never be given unless requested 
but then, let them be the result of your best thought. 

Letters of Excuse should be sent if aught has transpired 
needing to be excused, or if such an event is apt to transpire. 
Unexplained errors or omissions are cankers in friendship. 

Soliciting Favors. —If you have favors to ask by correspon¬ 
dence do it in a straightforward way. Reasons for asking them, 
and for applying to the party addressed, are in order, but flattery 
and misrepresentations should be spurned. 

Letters with Gifts are proper, but they should not be pat¬ 
ronizing, nor assume that some great thing has been done. They 
should always be very brief. 

Letters of Sympathy should always be tender ana carefully 
considered. Never attempt to belittle the loss or the sorrow un¬ 
der consideration ; and never aggravate it by tearing open the 
wounds afresh. Accept the facts, painful though they be, and 
apply whatever good consolation you can command. Be brief, 
but not curt. 

Letters of Friendship should be answered promptly, and 
good taste will dictate the measure of freedom or formality to be 
observed in them, which, with their frequency and length, must 
be governed by the relations of the parties. Set phrases, such 
as, “I now take my pen in hand,” “ Hoping these few lines will 
find you,” etc., are not used by people of intelligence and cul- 


THE TOILET. 547 

ture, but with, persons unaccustomed to writing they do no harm, 
and may sometimes prove an aid in an irksome task. 

In Directing Letters it is well to always write the full ad¬ 
dress, even though it is to be delivered by messenger, as the 
messenger may drop it or forget where he was ordered to take it. 
In such case the full address will be a guide. 


THE TOILET. 

No matter how well any one is dressed, if there is a lack of 
personal neatness, every charm is wanting. The most scrupu¬ 
lous care of every part of the body is necessary before arrang¬ 
ing it in fine apparel. A dingy skin will destroy the effect of 
the lightest eyes. A bad breath will keep friends and lovers at 
a distance. An effusion of perspiration is offensive to all with 
whom it is brought into contact. Decayed teeth repel fastidious 
people. Unclean finger nails are repulsive, and yet how fre¬ 
quently do we meet persons who have at least one of these de¬ 
fects, and often they are all found on one individual. 

Cleanliness of the body, besides being required by the laws of 
social propriety, is also important for the preservation of health. 
Remarks applicable to this subject will be found under the head 
of Diaphoretics, pages 46 and 47, and under the head Baths and 
Bathing, page 17 and following. 

ATTENTION TO THE HAIR. 

The preservation of the hair not only contributes to personal 
beauty, but indirectly to health also. The hair of the head pro¬ 
tects the brain from excesses of heat, and cold, and serves as a 
conductor to carry off the surplus electricity from the body. To 
persons accustomed to ordinary habits ot cleanliness, it is need¬ 
less to say that the hair should be as carefully dressed every day 
as the body, and the head should be washed with water as regu¬ 
larly as the face and hands. This may be done at the time of 
the morning ablutions, seeing that the scalp is thoroughly 
drenched, and then wiping the head and hair with a towel. It 
will comb and dress all the more easily, and the application will 



548 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

nourish rather than impoverish the hair. Ladies, however, who 
carry full heads of hair, would probably choose some other time 
for their tonsorial baptism. Once a week the head should be 
cleansed with water and castile soap, or treated to a shampoo 
lotion made by dissolving 2 drachms carbonate of potash in a 
pint of soft water. Rub a small portion of it thoroughly upon 
the head in the same manner as a soap lather, then wash off with 
water and wipe dry. 

Every hair is a hollow tube, and is nourished by means of a 
fluid which passes through it from the head ; hence any braid¬ 
ing or twisting of the hair so as to obstruct the circulation of 
this fluid, is injurious. 

It is well to cut the hair of children frequently, because by re¬ 
ducing the length and volume of the hair to be nourished and 
supported, it will acquire greater strength at the root. And 
where there is a tendency of the hair to drop out with adults, it 
may be checked by short cropping. 

There are occasionally persons whose hair retains its color and 
vigor to what may be called a green old age ; in others the hair 
turns gray and white, but is not perceptibly thinned. Baldness 
however, is the rule with old people, for which there is no rem¬ 
edy. Premature baldness comes many times as a result of dis¬ 
ease or as a consequence of dissipation, excesses in sensual pleas¬ 
ures, and intense and continued mental labor. 

Diseases of the hair and scalp are frequently communicated by 
the head coming in contact with the heads of other persons, as 
in sleeping together or reclining upon one another. Also by 
different persons using the same comb and brush. This should 
never be done. Every person should have their own comb, and 
in traveling should carry their own comb as well as their own 
tooth brush. 

Much injury is done to the hair by the use of hair oils, poma¬ 
tums and cosmetics. Better omit them entirely, relying upon 
nature, aided by cleanliness, to keep the hair thrifty. Coloring 
the hair or whiskers is not to be commended. But as those who 
buy this work will hardly think it complete if it does not describe 
some hair preparations, those which follow are given. 

While the matter under this head is compiled more particu¬ 
larly for the boudoir and the dressing room, it contains much 
that will be found valuable for barbers, perfumers and druggists. 


THE TOILET. 


549 


HAIR INVIGORATORS. 

The simplest remedy for loss of hair is friction to the scalp, 
using for the purpose an old tooth brush, or one of which the 
bristles have been softened by soaking in boiling water. The 
shape of the brush adapts it to be inserted readily and effectually 
between the scalp and the hair, when it should be rubbed back¬ 
ward and forward over the space of an inch or so at a time, 
once or twice a day. In addition to the friction the head may 
be showered once a day with cold water, or wet as before recom¬ 
mended, carefully drying it with soft, spongy towels. A bath of 
bay rum, or a wash in which white castile soap has been dis¬ 
solved, or an egg shampoo, is a good method by which the hair 
may be cleansed and renewed. 

Hair Tonic. —To prevent the hair from falling : Brandy 6 
ounces, glycerine 1 ounce, tincture cantharides 4 drachms, sul¬ 
phate quinine 1 drachm, oil bergamot 30 drops. Mix, and 
apply at night; it is effective and entirely harmless. 

Hair Pomade. —The following prescription is an excellent 
preparation to arrest the hair from falling, and promote its 
growth : Oil of almonds 3 ounces, white wax 1 ounce, sal vola¬ 
tile 4 drachms, tincture of cantharides 1 drachm, oil of berga¬ 
mot 20 drops. Place the wax in a jar set into boiling water; 
when the wax is melted, add the oil of almonds; this will so 
cool the wax that it must again be melted as before. When the 
whole is fluid, stir in the sal volatile, oil of bergamot, and the 
tincture of cantharides. 

To Darken the Hair. —Wash the head with soft water 
and comb the hair in the sun, having dipped the comb in oil of 
tartar. Do this three times a day for a week, and the hair will 
become much darker. 

Lotion for Baldness. —Take proof spirit and tincture of 
cantharides, equal parts, and to each ounce of the mixture add l 
drachm glycerine. Distilled water or rose water may be substi¬ 
tuted in place of the proof spirit. Or, equal parts tincture of 
cantharides and glycerine only, may be used. 

To Restore Gray Hair.— The following will restore gray 
hair to its original color: Take 1 drachm milk of sulphur, 1 
drachm acetate of lead, 2 drachms muriate of soda, 2 fluid ounces 
glycerine, 8 fluid ounces bay rum, 4 fluid ounces Jamaica rum. 


550 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


and 1 pint water. Mix together, and shake before using. The 
only objection to the above is the lead ingredient, which it is not 
well to apply in any form. 

Pomade for Baldness. —Beef marrow -§- pound, soaked in 
several waters, melted and strained, tincture of cantharides 1 
ounce, oil of bergamot 12 drops. 

Hair Wash.— Take 1 ounce of borax, J ounce of camphor; 
powder these ingredients fine, and dissolve them in 1 quart of 
boiling water; when cool the solution will be ready for use ; 
damp the hair frequently. This wash effectually cleanses, beau¬ 
tifies, and strengthens the hair, preserves the color, and prevents 
early baldness. The camphor will form into lumps after being 
dissolved, but the water will be sufficiently impregnated. 

A French Remedy for Baldness.— Take croton oil 12 
drops, oil of almonds 4 Troy drachms ; mix. A little is to be 
well rubbed on the scalp twice a day. Said to have proved very 
successful. 

Hair Stimulant. —Take bay rum 1 pint, alcohol J pint, 
castor oil \ ounce, carbonate of ammonia J ounce, tincture of 
cantharides ounce. Mix, and shake when used. Use it daily 
until the end is attained. 

Lotion for the Hair and Scalp. —1 teaspoonful powdered 
borax, 1 tablespoonful spirits of hartshorn, 1 quart soft water. 
Mix all together and apply to the head with a soft sponge ; then 
rub the head well with a dry towel. Use once a week. 

Another excellent method of cleansing the hair, is to take the 
yolk of an egg, and rub it in thoroughly a little at a time. It 
will produce a slight soapy lather, which should be rinsed out 
with soft water. This leaves the scalp perfectly clean, and the 
hair soft and silky. 

HAIR DYES. 

Before applying any dye the hair should be thoroughly washed 
free from oil, dirt or grease of any kind. The following dyes 
may be used : 

To Dye Blonde or Flaxen. —Mix in 10 ounces distilled 
water, 1 ounce acetate of iron, 1 ounce nitrate of silver, and 2 
ounces nitrate of bismuth ; moisten the hair with this mixture, 
and, after an hour, touch it with a mixture of equal parts of 
sulphide of potassium and distilled water. 


THE TOILET. 


551 


Rich Yellow Dye. —A solution of pure annotto obtained 
by boiling it in water slightly alkalized with carbonate of soda, 
or with salt of tartar, gives a golden yellow or flame yellow, ac- 
cording to its strength, to very pale hair, and corresponding 
tones to darker hair. A previous mordant of alum water deep¬ 
ens it, and a subsequent washing with water soured with lemon 
juice or vinegar reddens it or turns it on the orange. 

Brilliant Yellow. —A solution of a neutral salt of iron (sul¬ 
phate, acetate, or chloride), followed by a weak solution of car¬ 
bonate of soda, or salt of tartar, or lime water, gives a'warm yel¬ 
low or nankeen color, which, when deej^ turns on the red. In 
the latter case it is apt to assume a samiy shade on very light hair. 

To Color Hair Brown. —Make a solution of permanga¬ 
nate of potassa in the proportion of 1 Troy ounce to 1 quart of 
water. The hair must be first cleansed by a dilute solution of 
ammonia, when it is dried by means of a towel, and the solution 
of the permanganate applied to the hair, but not to the skin, as 
this would also be colored. It dyes the hair immediately, and 
the desired shade may be obtained by applying more or less of 
the solution. Should the hands become stained with it, they can 
be cleaned with a little dilute hydrochloric acid. This dye is not 
permanent, but is very easily renewed with a tooth-brush. 

Walnut Hair Dye.— The simplest form is the expressed 
juice of the bark or shell of green walnuts. This is the venera¬ 
ble hair dye of Paulus iEgineta. To preserve this juice, a little 
alcohol is commonly added to it, with a few bruised cloves, and 
the whole digested together, with occasional agitation, for a 
week or fortnight, when the clear portion is decanted, and, if 
necessary, filtered. Sometimes a little common salt is added 
with the same intention. It should be kept in a cool place. 

To Darken the Hair. —Scald black tea, 2 ounces, with 1 
gallon boiling water; strain, and add 3 ounces glycerine, tinc¬ 
ture cantharides £ ounce, bay rum 1 quart. Mix well by shak¬ 
ing and then perfume. 

MANUFACTURED DYES. 

Druggists and perfumers many times prepare hair dyes in 
quantity, and keep them on sale. The following recipes will be 
found useful for this purpose. 


552 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

No. 1.—Take galic acid % ounce, alcohol 8 ounces, soft water 
16 ounces. Put the acid in the alcohol, then add the water. 

No. 2.—Crystalized nitrate of silver 1 ounce, strongest ammo¬ 
nia 3 ounces, gum arabic J ounce, soft water 6 ounces. Put 
the silver in the ammonia; do not cork till it is dissolved ; 
dissolve the gum in the water, then mix, and it is ready for use. 

Keep Nos. 1 and 2 in separate bottles, and apply each alter¬ 
nately to the hair. Be particular to cleanse the hair before 
applying the dye. 

No. 3.—Nitrate of silver 11 drachms, nitric acid 1 drachm 
distilled water 1 pint, sap green 3 drachms, gum arabic 1 drachm. 
Mix. 

No. 4.—Nitric acid 1 drachm, nitrate of silver 10 drachms, 
sap green 9 drachms, mucilage 5 drachms, distilled water 3*4 
fluid ounces. 

No. 5.—Silver 2 drachms, iron filings 4 drachms, nitric acid 

1 ounce, distilled water 8 ounces; digest and filter. Carefully 
apply with a fine brush. 

POMADES. 

Por the ordinary pomades a mixture of lard and suet is gener¬ 
ally employed ; for the harder ones, suet chiefly or wholly; or a 
little pure white wax or beeswax (according to the intended color 
of the product) is melted with the fat to increase its solidity. 
For white pomades, mutton suet is employed; for others, in 
general, beef suet. In those which are artificially colored, either 
may be used ; but beef suet is preferable when either clearness 
or a crystalline appearance is desired. In finishing off pomades, 
those which it is intended should be opaque and white, should 
be stirred or beaten assiduously with a knife or spatula until the 
fat begins to concrete, or has acquired considerable consistence, 
before potting it; but when it is desired that they should be 
transparent or crystalline, the clear liquid mass is poured into 
the pots or bottles, previously slightly warmed, and the whole is 
allowed to cool very slowly, without being disturbed, in a situa¬ 
tion free from draughts of cold air. 

Scenting Essences for Pomades.— For millefleur : Oil 
of lemon 3 ounces, essence of ambergris 4 ounces, oil of cloves 

2 ounces, oil of lavender 2 ounces. For cowslip: Essence of ber¬ 
gamot 16 ounces, essence of lemon 8 ounces ; oil of cloves 4 


THE TOILET. 


553 


ounces, oil of orange-peel 2 ounces, oil of jasmine 2 drachms, eau 
de bouquet 2 ounces, oil of bitter almonds 16 drops. For gen¬ 
eral use : Essence of bergamot 16 ounces, essence of lemon 8 
ounces, true oil of origanum and oil of cloves, each two ounces, 
oil of orange-peel 1£ ounces. 

Compound Pomade. —Take of castor oil 1 pound avoirdu¬ 
pois ; pure white wax 4 ounces; melt them together, and then 
add oil of bergamot 2J- drachms; oil of lavender £ drachm ; 
essence royale 10 or 12 drops ; stir the mixture while cooling. 

Rose and Vanilla. —Take of plain pomade 1 pound avoir¬ 
dupois ; melt and add 4 or 5 imperial fluid drachms finest 
essence of vanilla; otto of roses 8 or 10 drops, as before. Very 
fine. The plain pomade may be previously slightly tinged with 
annotto. 

Crystalline Pomatum.— Take fatty oil of almonds 2f, 
pounds ; spermaceti \ pound, oil of lemon 3 ounces. The sper¬ 
maceti is melted in a water bath, the oils are then added, and 
the heat kept up until a uniform mass is obtained, in which no¬ 
floating particles of spermaceti can be distinguished. The pom¬ 
ade is then poured into glasses; if it is desired to obtain this, 
pomade crystallized, the glasses must be heated beforehand, and: 
cooled down very slowly. 

Imitation Bear Oil. —Take of unrendered hog’s lard (dry)^ 
1 \ pounds; melt it by the heat of a water-bath; add of balsam of: 
Peru, 2 drachms; flowers of benzoin and palm oil (bright), of 
each 1 drachm; stir vigorously for a few minutes, to promote 
solution. Then remove the pan from the bath, and, after re¬ 
pose for a short time, pour off the clear portion from the sedi¬ 
ment, and stir the liquid mass until it begins to cool. 

Almond Paste. —For softening the skin and preventing 
chaps : Take bitter almonds, blanched, 4 ounces, white of one 
egg, rose water and alcohol, equal parts, or as much of the alco¬ 
hol as will be sufficient to form a paste. 

Oriental Cold Cream.— Oil of almonds 4 ounces, white- 
wax and spermaceti, of each 2 drachms; melt, and add rose 
water 4 ounces, orange-flower water 1 ounce; used to soften the 
skin. 

Oil of Roses. —Olive oil 1 pound, otto of roses 50 drops, oil 

35 


554 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

of rosemary 35 drops; mix. Another: Eoses (hardly opened) 12 
ounces, olive oil 16 ounces; beat them together in mortar; let 
them remain for a few days, then express the oil. 

Camphor Ice. —Spermaceti 1£ ounces, gum camphor £ 
ounce, oil sweet almonds 4 teaspoonfuls; set on the stove in an 
earthen dish till dissolved; heat just enough to dissolve it. 
While warm pour into small moulds, if desired to sell; then 
paper and put into tinfoil; used for chaps on hands or lips. 

Cologne Water. —Oils of rosemary and lemon, of each £ 
ounce, oils of bergamot and lavender, each £ ounce, oil cinna¬ 
mon 8 drops, oils of cloves and rose, each 15 drops, best deodor¬ 
ized alcohol 2 quarts; shake 2 or 3 times per day for a week. 

Extra Fine Cologne. —Put 1 quart 95 per cent, alcohol 
into a bottle ; add to it 9 drachms oil of cedrat, 2 drachms oil 
of thyme, 6 drachms each oils of bergamot and oil of lemon, 4 
drachms oil of Portugal, 2 drachms each oil of neroli, oil of ver¬ 
vain and oil of rosemary, 2£ drachms oil of mint, 2 pints eau de 
melisse, and 24 drops tincture of musk; mix thoroughly, and 
after standing for 12 hours, filter till clear. 

Good Cologne. —Take of pure 95 per cent, cologne spirits 
6 gallons, oil of neroli 4 ounces, oil of rosemary 2 ounces, oil of 
orange 5 ounces, oil of citron 5 ounces, oil of bergamot 2 ounces; 
mix with agitation; then allow it k> stand for a few days per¬ 
fectly quiet before bottling. 

Bay Bum. —The genuine bay rum is made by digesting the 
leaves of the hay plant (an aromatic plant which grows in the 
West Indies), in rum, with subsequent distillation. 

Imitation Bay Bum. —Prepared from the essential oil 
obtained from the hay plant. Mix 1 ounce oil of bay (or £ 
ounce oil of bay, and £ ounce of either oil of pimento, allspice, 
or cloves), with 4 gallons 95 per cent, alcohol; then add gradu¬ 
ally 4 gallons of water, shaking the mixture constantly. If the 
mixture should become milky, the addition of a little alcohol 
will make it clear. 

Another. —Probably the best imitation is as follows : Ten 
fluid drachms oil of bay, 1 fluid drachm oil of pimento, 2 fluid 
ounces acetic ether, 3 gallons alcohol, and 2£ gallons water. 
Mix, and after 2 weeks’ repose, filter. 

Florida Water.— Take 2 drachms each of the oils of laven- 


THE TOILET. 


555 


der, bergamot and lemon, 1 drachm each of tincture of turmeric 
and oil of neroli, 30 drops oil of balm and 10 drops oil of rose; 
mix the above with 2 pints deodorized alcohol. 

HAIR OILS. 

Rose Oil. —Olive oil 1 pint, otto of roses 5 to 16 drops. 
Essence of bergamot, being much cheaper, is commonly used in¬ 
stead of the more expensive otto of roses. 

Macassar Oil.— Olive oil 1 quart, alcohol 2| ounces, rose 
oil £ drachm; tie chipped alkanet root 1 ounce, into 2 or 3 lit¬ 
tle muslin bags ; let them lie in the oil until a beautiful red is 
manifested ; then hang them up to drain, for if you press them 
you get out a sediment you do not wish in the oil. 

Barber’s Star Oil. —Castor oil 6£ pints, alcohol 1J- pints, 
citronella and lavender oil each £ ounce. 

To Color Hair Oils. —It may be desired to give some one 
of the following colors to hair oils : 

Green. —Steep (cold) a little green parsley, or spinach leaves, 
or lavender, in the oil for a few days; or dissolve 2 or 3 drachms 
of gum guaiacum in each pint of it, by the aid of heat. 

Yellow or Orange. —Rub up a little annotto with a portion 
•of the oil while hot, and then add it to the rest at a gentle heat; 
or, add a little bright palm oil to it while warm. 

Red or Crimson. —Steep cold for 2 or 3 days, a little alka¬ 
net root (say 2 or 3 drachms) in each pint of the oil. Or by 
steeping warm, the time may be reduced to 1 or 2 hours. 

SHAMPOOS. 

Shampoo Mixture. —Soft water 1 pint, sal soda 1 ounce, 
cream tartar i ounce. Apply thoroughly to the hair. 

Another Excellent Shampoo. —Aqua ammonia 3 ounces, 
salts of tartar J ounce, alcohol \ ounce, and soft water 2J pints, 
flavoring with bergamot. In applying, rub the head until the 
lather goes down, then wash out. 

A Cheap Shampoo. —Salts of tartar 1 ounce, water 1 quart; 
mix thoroughly. 

Fine Shampoo. —An excellent wash for the hair is made by 
dissolving \ ounce carbonate of ammonia and 1 ounce borax in 
1 quart water, and adding thereto 2 ounces glycerine, 3 quarts 


556 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


New England rum, and 1 quart bay rum. The hair, having; 
been moistened with this liquor, is to be shampooed with the 
hands until a slight lather is formed ; and the latter being then 
washed out with clear water, leaves the head clean, and the hair 
moist and glossy. 

HAIR DRESSINGS. 

Bandoline for the Hair. —To 1 quart of water put f 
ounce of quince pips ; boil nearly an hour, stirring well; strain 
through fine muslin; let stand 24 hours, and then add 15 drops 
of the essential oil of almonds. A dessert spoonful of brandy 
may be added if required to keep for a long time. 

Bose Bandoline. —Take of castor oil 2 ounces, spermaceti 
1 drachm; mix with heat and strain, then beat in 6 drops of 
otto of roses. 

Hair Curling Fluid. —Take 1 ounce (avoirdupois) finest 
white gum arabic, white sugar £ ounce, pure hot water J- 
imperial pint; dissolve. To the solution, when cold, add 2 
fluid ounces alcohol, powdered sal-ammoniac 6 grains ; the last 
being dissolved in the spirit before admixture. Lastly, add 
enough water to make the whole measure 1 pint, with a little 
otto of rose, Cologne or lavender water, to scent it. The hair is 
moistened with the fluid before putting it in papers or papil- 
lotes, or twisting it with the fingers. Shake before using. 

COSMETICS. 

The face should never be washed when heated from exercise* 
Wipe the perspiration from the skin and wait until it is suffi¬ 
ciently cool before you bathe it. 

Soap is not desirable for the face, at least not too much of it,, 
or any soap that has coloring matter in it. 

Every lady should keep on the shelf in her bath room, or on 
her toilet stand, a cup of oatmeal, as it is very desirable for whit¬ 
ening and softening the hands. Fine bay rum is another neces¬ 
sity of the toilet. A little of it added to the water will prevent 
that disagreeable shiny skin which often follows the bath. 

There are a great many washes and preparations in the mar¬ 
ket for improving and beautifying the complexion, and some are 
no doubt very successful in producing the desired result. Others 
again are useless, and what is worse, injurious. This is espe- 


THE TOILET. 


557 


cially the case where lead is used in the preparation, as is 
usually done in nearly all liquid face washes, and in some pow¬ 
ders. Others are highly recommended by those who have used 
them for years and found no ill effect. 

It is a pity that any lady should become habituated to the use 
of cosmetics, as the skin is liable to be permanently disfigured by 
their constant use, and unfit to be seen when they are discontin¬ 
ued. The use of powder is not nearly so disastrous as that of 
liquids. Indeed, a good harmless powder is necessary to finish 
a, fine toilet, and if put on artistically improves the looks of the 
lady using it. Rouge is no longer admissible in good society. 
It is worn on the stage but not among people of social position. 
Tinted powders, however, are quite in vogue, and if not too pink 
are rather effective with a brilliant toilet. Ladies who powder 
.should apply it before they put on the dress. The neck, ears, 
and face should be powdered alike, as the contrast of a portion 
of the natural skin is not to be thought of. It should be put on 
freely and left until the very last moment, when a soft flannel 
.should be used to dust off all superfluous particles. It is a great 
mistake to color the lips. The contrast is always disagreeable 
instead of being pleasing, and if the lips are pale or blue as in¬ 
digo, the excitement of talking will give them a far better natu¬ 
ral color than any salve or liquid. Touching them with cologne 
has often the required effect. Rosy red lips belong only to first 
youth, and any attempt to introduce them artificially results in 
failure, and draws unfavorable attention to them. 

To Soften the Skin. —It is said that flour of sulphur 
mixed in a little milk and rubbed into the skin will make it soft 
and clear. It should be prepared over night and used in the 
morning, as it will not keep. About a wineglassful made for 
each occasion would suffice. 

A Face Ointment. —Take equal parts of the seeds of 
-the lemon, pumpkin, gourd, and cucumber, pounded until 
they are reduced to powder; add to it sufficient fresh cream 
to dilute the flour, and then add milk enough to reduce 
the whole to a thin paste. Add a grain of musk, and a few 
drops of the oil of lemon. Anoint the face with this, leave it 
on twenty or thirty minutes or over night if convenient, and 
wash off with warm water. This is one of the famous Lola 


558 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


Montez recipes for the toilet. It gives a remarkable purity and 
brightness to the complexion. 

Ammonia Lotion. —People with oily or greasy skins, or 
troubled with offensive perspiration, should use in the bath aqua 
ammonia, two or three tablespoonfuls to an ordinary bath tub of 
soft or rain water, or a few drops of the aqua ammonia in the* 
wash basin for the hands and face. It stimulates and cleanses 
the skin, and is especially valuable for those who perspire freely, 
as it removes offensive odors. No toilet table is complete 
without a bottle of aqua ammonia. 

Tan and Sun Burn. —To remove tan and sun burn, take 
cream, mutton tallow, and lemon juice, equal parts, mix together 
and apply to the face on going to bed and let remain until 
morning. 

Lotion for the Skin. —A cooling and cleansing lotion tore- 
move sun burn, tan, freckles, pimples, etc., is the following: Rose 
water 5 ounces, glycerine 2 ounces, spirits of camphor 1 ounce,, 
epsom salts 1 ounce, aqua ammonia 20 drops; mix. First 
shake the bottle; then apply at night on retiring, sufficient to 
moisten the skin; let remain until morning, then wash off with 
warm soft or rain water. This can be depended on as being by 
far the best beautifier of the complexion known. 

To Prevent Sun Burn. —Take 2 drachms of borax, 1 
drachm Roman alum, 1 drachm camphor, J ounce white sugar, 

1 pound ox-gall; mix, and stir well together and repeat the 
stirring three times a day until it becomes transparent. Then 
strain it through filtering or blotting paper and it will be ready 
for use. Wash the face with the mixture before going into the 
sun. 

Cheap Cosmetic Lotion. —Take a tea-cup of cold sour 
milk and scrape into it a quantity of horse-radish. This must 
stand from six to twelve hours. Then strain, and apply. 

To Remove Black Stains from the Skin. —Ink or 
coloring stains on the hands, or black stains on the skin from 
wearing black crape, etc., may be removed by a mixture of ox¬ 
alic acid and cream of tartar, equal parts. They are procured at 
the druggist’s, powdered and mixed in a mortar, and should be 
kept in a covered porcelain or glass covered box. May be moist¬ 
ened with soft water, and applied with the corner of a towel wet 


THE TOILET. 


559 


in warm water; wash off immediately with soap and water. 
Oxalic acid is a poison, and should he kept out of the way of 
children. 

Complexion Paste. —Take 1 ounce of hitter almonds; 
blanch them, and pound to a fine powder ; add 1 ounce of bar¬ 
ley flour made into a smooth paste by the addition of a little 
honey. When this paste is spread over the skin, particularly 
where there are freckles, it makes it smooth and soft. 

Palatine. —Take 8 ounces of soft soap, 4 ounces each of 
olive oil and dilute alcohol, 1£ ounces of lemon juice, sufficient 
silver-sand to form into a thick paste and any perfume that is 
grateful to the person. Boil the oil and soap together, cool 
gradually and stir in the sand and lemon juice. When nearly 
cold add the alcohol and lastly the perfume. Make into a paste 
with the hands and place in jars or pots for use. This paste is 
used instead of soap, and is a valuable addition to the toilet, 
as it preserves the skin from chapping and renders it smooth and 
soft. 

Calcined Magnesia. —This is a very effective powder to 
be used the same as ordinary face powders. 

An Elegant Cosmetic. —Take 4 ounces marshmallow root, 
2 ounces white starch, 3 drachms orris root, all powdered, and 20 
drops of essence of jasmine. Mix well and sift through fine mus¬ 
lin. This is one of the best and most agreeable cosmetics known 
for softening and whitening the skin and preserving it from 
chapping, and is so simple that it can be applied to the most 
delicate or irritable skin with beneficial results. 

Milk of Roses. —This is said to be a great beautifier. Take 
£ pound of sweet almonds, 2-J pints of rose water, J pint of 
dilute alcohol, 1 drachm oil of lavender, J ounce of castile soap 
and 1 ounce cream of roses; blanch the almonds in boiling 
water, dry them well in a cloth, and then pound in a mortar 
until they become a complete paste. Pound the soap in the 
same mortar and let it be well mixed with the almond paste; 
when this is done add the cream of roses, mix again, and then 
with a spatula stir in the rose water and spirits. Strain the 
whole through a clean white cloth and add the oil of lavender to 
the expressed liquid, stirring it in drop by drop. When the 
mixture has stood covered for 1 day bottle it for use. 


560 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

Complexion Soap. —Dissolve 2 ounces Venice soap in 2 
ounces lemon juice. Add 1 ounce oil of almonds and 1 ounce 
oil of tartar ; mix and stir until it has acquired the consistency 
of honey. 

For Removing Wrinkles. —Take 2 ounces of the juice 
of onions, 2 ounces of the white lily, 2 ounces honey, and 1 
ounce white wax ; put the whole in a new earthen jar and set it 
over a fire until the wax is melted. Then take off and stir 
briskly until it is cold. Apply on going to bed and remove in 
the morning. 

Lotion for Wrinkles. —Take of second water of barley 1 
pint and strain through a piece of fine linen. Add a dozen 
drops of the balm of Mecca, shake it well together until the 
balm is thoroughly incorporated with the water, which will be 
when the water assumes a white or turgid appearance. This is 
said to give a surprising brilliancy to the skin and preserve the 
freshness of youth. 

Gelatine for the Skin. —Used as an application to chaps 
and roughened parts of the skin. It may be made of pure glyce¬ 
rine thickened with tragacanth powder and scented with otto of 
roses. 

Lotion for the Complexion. —Mix £ ounce powdered 
borax, and 1 ounce pure glycerine, with 1 quart camphor water. 
Wet the face morning and evening with this lotion, allowing it 
to dry partially, and then rinse off with soft water. 

Lotion for Chaps and Sunburns. —Take 6 drachms 
powdered borax, finest purified glycerine £ ounce, rose water 12 
ounces; mix. Is fragrant, agreeable and effective. Its daily 
use as a cosmetic wash renders the skin beautifully soft and 
white, and prevents and removes chaps, sunburns, etc. 

PERFUMES. 

The least of these the better, and that so delicately used as to 
become a part of the person using it, and not a “loud” odor, 
calling attention to its use. A pretty story is told of a little 
child who, too young to read, could yet go to the post office and 
ask for letters for her mother. These she always smelled care¬ 
fully, sometimes with a look of disappointment, but often with 
a bright appreciative smile. Upon being asked why she smelled 


THE TOILET. 


561 


of the letter, she said it was from her auntie, and smelled like a 
rose, that being the delicate perfume the lady always used, and 
which clung fondly to all her possessions. 

A little good cologne in the bath has an excellent effect. But 
the small bottles of fine perfumes are the most fragrant and last¬ 
ing. Satchet powder sewed into a dress or corset, or kept in 
trunks, gives that indefinable odor which is so faint as to be al¬ 
most imperceptible. Every article worn should have that 
lingering odor in faint proportion, and it should be in the gar¬ 
ments before they are worn, and not just put on. Veils, gloves, 
laces, etc., should be fragrant. Cologne is not desirable, because 
it leaves when stale an odor of alcohol like a burned-out lamp. 
The finer the perfume the less is needed for effect. Frangipanni, 
Jockey Club, White Rose, Marie Stuart, and other well known 
perfumes, are favorites. Avoid any thing that has one odor in 
^excess of others. Lemon or orange, geranium, musk, etc., are 
valuable accessories, but very poor principals. Musk in its own 
^estate is essentially vulgar, but as a component part it adds value 
to a perfume. 

A Pleasant Perfume. —Take 1 ounce each of cloves, carra- 
way seed, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, and Tonquin beans. Then 
;add as much Florentine orris root as will equal the other ingre¬ 
dients put together. Grind the whole to powder, fill small bags, 
and put among the clothes in trunks and bureaus. This is also 
.an excellent preventive against moth. 

Lavender Scent Bag. —Take \ pound of lavender flowers 
without the stalks, $ ounce each dried thyme and mint, \ ounce 
ground cloves and carraway seed, 1 ounce common salt, dried. 
Mix all well together and put the product into small silk or 
■cambric bags and lay them among the clothes. 

Lavender Water. —Essence of musk 4 drachms, essence 
ambergris 4 drachms, oil cinnamon 10 drops, English lavender 
6 drachms, oil geranium 2 drachms, dilute alcohol 20 ounces. 
To be all mixed together and bottled in a toilet flask. 

Eau de Cologne. —Oil of neroli, citron, bergamot, orange 
.and rosemary, of each 12 drops, cardamom seeds 1 drachm, es¬ 
sence of musk 1 drachm, spirits of wine 13 ounces, water 5 
.ounces. Let it stand 1 week. 

Frangipanni.—Spirits 1 gallon, oil bergamot 1 ounce, oil 


562 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

of lemon 1 ounce; macerate for 4 days, frequently shaking, them 
add water 1 gallon, orange flower water 1 pint, essence of valerian, 
2 ounces. Mix. 

Jockey Club. —Spirits of wine 5 gallons, orange flower 
water 1 gallon, balsam of Peru 4 ounces, essence of bergamot 8 
ounces, essence of musk 8 ounces, essence of cloves 4 ounces, 
essence of neroli 2 ounces. Mix. 

Ladies’ Own. —Spirits of wine 1 gallon, otto of roses 20 
drops, essence of thyme £ ounce, essence of neroli £ ounce, es- 
scence of vanilla ounce, essence of bergamot \ ounce, orange 
flower water 6 ounces. 

Kiss Me Quick. —Spirits 1 gallon, essence of thyme \ 
ounce, essence of orange flowers 2 ounces, essence neroli £ ounce, 
otto of roses 30 drops, essence of jasmine 1 ounce, essence of 
balm mint £ ounce, petals of roses 4 ounces, oil lemon 20 drops, 
calorus aromaticus i ounce, essence neroli J ounce. Mix and- 
strain. 

Upper Ten. —Spirits of wine 4 quarts, essence of cedrat 2 
drachms, essence of violets J ounce, essence of neroli •§■ ounce, 
otto of roses 20 drops, orange flower essence 1 ounce, oil of rose¬ 
mary 30 drops, oils bergamot and neroli each \ ounce. 

FRECKLES. 

There is little doubt but that the time will come when freckles’ 
will be a distinguishing mark of beauty, and they almost invari¬ 
ably accompany a fine color and delicate features. At present 
however, the belles of the day will not permit them to flourish, 
although their presence proclaims that the lady is the possessor 
of a natural and not an artificial complexion. They are fre¬ 
quently caused by exposure to sun and wind, but sometimes the 
weather has no influence upon them, and they must be eradicated 
by proper treatment. In many cases the juice of a lemon used 
daily will cause them to disappear. For obstinate freckles the 
following remedies will be found efficacious: 

1. Mix \ teaspoonful muriate of ammonia, 10 drops muri¬ 
atic acid, and 2 teaspoonfuls lavender water in i pint of distilled 
water; apply 2 or 3 times a day with a camel’s-hair brush or 
soft sponge; let dry on the face. 


THE TOILET. 


56a 


2. Add the juice of a lemon, a bit of alum the size of a hazel 
nut, and a tablespoonful of brandy, to a teacup of milk; boil and 
skim. Apply as above. 

3. Scrape or grate a good tablespoonful of horse radish into- 
a teacup of cold sour milk; let it stand over night, strain, and 
apply as directed. 

4. Dissolve an ounce of alum in a pint of rose water, and add 
the juice of 2 lemons. 

PATCHES. 

These are always in fashion as aids to a brilliant toilet. The- 
court ladies of Louis Quatorze’s time used to wear a coach-and- 
four, castle, or anything that took their fancy. At present the 
patch is sold in boxes and is cut in the shape of tiny hearts, 
stars, crescents, and other designs. They are called “ beauty 
spots.” They add much to the brilliancy of color, and are 
generally put either on the cheek near the lips, on the chin, or 
just above the upper lip. They are supposed to conceal a mos¬ 
quito bite, and in cases of pimples or cold sores are useful as well 
as ornamental. 

THE LIPS. 

Much care should be taken to keep the lips well and rosy, as- 
they are very important factors in the make-up of beauty. 
Cracks and cold sores at the corners should be avoided. Cold 
cream, camphor ice, glycerine and vaseline are excellent reme¬ 
dial preparations for the lips. There are also healing salves 
which are very beneficial, some of the best of which are given 
following. 

Rose Lip-Salve, —Eight ounces sweet almond oil, 4 ounces 
prepared mutton suet, ounces white wax, 2 ounces sperma¬ 
ceti, 20 drops otto of roses. Steep a small quantity of alkanet 
root in the oil, and strain. Melt the suet wax and spermaceti 
together, then add the oil and otto of roses. 

Healing Lip-Salve. —White wax 2£ ounces, spermaceti f 
ounce, oil of almonds 4 ounces ; mix well together and apply a 
little to the lips at night. 

Balsam for Chapped Lips.— Take 2 teaspoonfuls of 
clarified honey, with a few drops of lavender water, or any other 
agreeable perfume. Mix and anoint the lips frequently. 


1)64 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

Face or Lip Honey. —Take 2 ounces of fine honey, 1 
ounce purified wax, £ ounce silver litharge and i ounce myrrh. 
Mix over a slow fire and add milk of roses, eau de cologne, or 
any perfume preferred. 

VARIOUS TOILET RECIPES. 

To Cure Offensive Breath. —A solution of salt in water 
.drank just before breakfast every morning, will go far to relieve 
an offensive breath. Of course it should not be taken strong 
enough to act as an emetic unless that effect is desired. The 
mouth may be rinsed however 2 or 3 times a day with a strong 
.solution of salt (or brine), using it also to cleanse the teeth. 

The following additional recipes may also be used 

1. Take 5 to 10 drops hydrochloric acid in % tumbler of spring 
water, a little lemon juice, and loaf sugar rubbed on lemon peel 
to flavor it to suit the palate. Let this mixture be taken 3 times 
a day for a month or 6 weeks, and, if useful, then continued oc¬ 
casionally. It is a pleasant refrigerant and tonic draught. 

2. Bad or foul breath will be removed by taking a teaspoonful 
of the following mixture after each meal: 1 ounce liquor of po- 
tassa, 1 ounce chloride of soda, 1 \ ounces phosphate of soda, and 
:3 ounces water. 

3. When the breath is affected by constipation of the bowels, 
the following mixture will be useful: Take 4 drachms Epsom 
salts, 8 drachms tincture of columba, 6 ounces infusion of roses ; 
well shake the bottle each time you take the draught, which 
should be every other morning for a month or 6 weeks, a wine- 
glassful each time. 

4. Parsley eaten with vinegar will remove the unpleasant 
.effects of eating onions. 

5. Take of expressed juice of violets (clear), 1 fluid ounce, 
clarified honey 2 ounces; mix without heat in a glass vessel. 
Used chiefly as a mouth wash, to perfume the breath, as honey 
cf roses. 

Balm of Thousand Flowers.— Take of white Castile 
soap 2 ounces, honey 4 ounces, water 12 ounces, alcohol 4 ounces ; 
melt the Castile soap and honey in the alcohol and water with a 
gentle heat. Flavor with oil of rose and wintergreen. Used as 
a dentifrice. 


THE TOILET. 


565 • 

Sozodont. —Take of salts of tartar (carbonate of potassa) J- 
ounce, honey 4 ounces, alcohol 2 ounces, water 10 ounces, oil* 
wintergreen and oil rose sufficient to flavor. 

Mouth Wash. —Rub well together in a mortar 1 ounce each 
of borax and honey; then gradually add 1 quart alcohol, and 
add 1 ounce each of gum myrrh and red saunders wood. Mac¬ 
erate for 14 days, and filter. This is an excellent wash for the- 
gums and mouth. 

Teeth Wash. —Dissolve 2 ounces borax in 3 pounds boiling: 
water, and before it is cold add 1 teaspoonful spirits of camphor, 
and bottle for use. A teaspoonful of this mixture, mixed with 
an equal quantity of tepid water, and applied daily with a soft 
brush, preserves and beautifies the teeth, extirpates all tartarous 
adhesions, arrests decay, induces a healthy action in the gums, 
and makes the teeth pearly white. 

Piercing the Ears. —There is no propriety in piercing the 
ears of young children, because pendants are unsuited to infancy. 
As girls reach the age of young misses, however, this species of 
ornamentation becomes them, there is a little excusable vanity 
in desiring it, and this will impart to them a courage to undergo 
the operation of piercing the ears, which however may be done* 
with little or no pain, as follows : Rub the lobe gently between 
the thumb and forefinger, and apply snow or ice to it till it be¬ 
comes numb, then pass a medium sized needle armed with two 
or three silk threads, through it, letting the threads remain 
until the wound is healed. Best done by laying a flat piece of 
cork under the lobe, and the needle can then be passed straight 
through, pressing against and piercing the cork ; then remove 
the cork and draw the needle through. 

To Whiten the Nails. —Wash them with turpentine, then 
with soap and water, next with a solution of oxalic acid, and" 
lastly, wash the hands well in warm water. 

Eyelashes, to Make Long. —Clip the ends of the eye¬ 
lashes every month, and use, night and morning, the following 
lotion : Oxide of zinc 10 grains, rose water 1 ounce. Mix, and 
apply with a camel-hair pencil. Should any get into the eye it 
will do no harm. 

A Fragrant Odor. —Parlors and reception rooms can be 


£66 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


most agreeably perfumed by placing a few drops of oil of sandal 
wood on a hot shovel or other piece of heated iron. 

To Clean Hair Brushes and Combs.— Wash the bristles 
for a few seconds in a weak solution of aqua ammonia, say a 
tablespoonful to a pint of cold soft water. Then rinse in clean 
cold water, and dry. Do not set them near the fire, nor in the 
sun, to dry, but, after shaking well, set them on the point 
of the handle in a shady place. By this process the brush will 
be thoroughly cleansed with very little trouble. Observe that 
the mahogany or satin-wood back of the brush must be kept out 
of the solution, as it is apt to discolor wood. Combs may be 
-cleaned in the same manner. 


COMMERCIAL LAW AND BUSINESS FORMS. 

Many disagreements and lawsuits result from want of knowl¬ 
edge of the simplest rules of law and business. It is well to have 
men in society whose business it is to study and expound the 
law, but it is equally important that all men should have some 
knowledge of the laws that govern them in their social and busi¬ 
ness relations. The following pages will have a value in this re- 
.spect. While it is also the safe way usually to employ a lawyer 
to prepare legal papers, it is many times a great convenience for 
the average citizen to be able to do so, and with this view a few 
business forms are appended under this head. 

BUSINESS LAW IN BRIEF. 

Ignorance of law excuses no one. 

It is a fraud to conceal a fraud. 

The law compels no one to do impossibilities. 

An agreement without consideration is void. 

Signatures made with a lead pencil are good in law. 

A receipt for money paid is not legally conclusive. 

Contracts made on Sunday cannot be enforced—a bad law. 

Contracts for advertising in Sunday newspapers are invalid— 
■an unjust law. 

Principals are responsible for the acts of their agents. 



COMMERCIAL LAW AND BUSINESS FORMS. 


567 


Agents are responsible to their principals for errors. 

A note drawn on Sunday is void—but unjust, as Sunday is no 
^better or more holy than any other day. 

Each individual in a partnership is responsible for the whole 
.amount of the debts of the firm, except in cases of special part¬ 
nerships. The word “ limited,” in connection with a firm name, 
indicates that a limitation of responsibility for each member is 
fixed. 

The acts of one partner bind the rest in partnership contracts. 

No consideration for any contract is sufficient in law if the 
contract itself be illegal in its nature. 

A contract made with an idiot or lunatic is void. 

A written instrument is not a contract, but is simply evidence 
■of a contract; nor is a note a debt, but rather evidence of a debt. 

But written contracts and evidences of debt are favored by the 
courts because of their precision. 

Written instruments are to be construed and interpreted by 
the law, according to the simple, customary and natural mean¬ 
ing of the words used. 

No evidence can be introduced to contradict or vary a written 
agreement, but may be received in order to explain it, when 
-such explanation is needed. 

All claims which do not rest upon a seal or judgment must be 
.sued within six years from the time when they arise. This rule, 
however, differs in different States. 

Part payment of a debt which has passed the time of statutory 
limitation, revives the whole debt, and the claim holds good for 
another period of six years from the date of payment of such 
partial payment. 

If, when a debt is due, the debtor is out of the State, the 
“six years” do not begin to run until he returns. If he after¬ 
ward leaves the State, the time forward counts the same as if he 
remained. 

NOTES AND DRAFTS. 

A note is an agreement by one person to pay a certain sum of 
money at a given time. The time must be certain and the 
promise absolute, and must not depend upon a contingency. 

If a note is made payable simply to “ bearer,” it may be col¬ 
lected by any person who is the lawful owner of it. 


568 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

If a note is made payable to “ John Jones/’ it can only be col¬ 
lected by John Jones, but if made payable to “ John Jones or 
bearer ” it may be collected as last indicated. 

A note made payable to John Jones “or order/’ may be col¬ 
lected by John Jones himself, or if he write his name across it, 
by the person to whom it is transferred. 

Every person who writes his name on a note or bill is respons¬ 
ible to subsequent purchasers for the amount of it, unless he 
writes also ‘ ‘ without recourse,” or something similar. 

In drawing a note it is not necessary to say “for value re¬ 
ceived,” though it is well to do so. 

If a note is drawn “ with interest,” it draws interest from the 
time it is given, and at the legal rate of interest where it is given. 

If it does not say “ with interest ” it will draw interest from 
the time it becomes due until it is paid ; or if it be payable “on 
demand,” it will draw interest after demand made for payment. 

If a due bill is given payable in any particular kind of goods, 
and is not paid according to its terms, it becomes a cash claim 
against the party giving it. 

A note dated ahead of its issue is void; it may be dated back 
at pleasure. 

A note made by a minor is void in some states, and in others 
it is voidable on judicial decision. 

A note obtained by fraud or from a person when intoxicated, 
cannot be collected. 

A person in endorsing a note usually writes his name across 
the back, although he may write his name across the face, or in 
any other position on the note. 

Where a person signs a note with another and writes “ surety ” 
after his name, it does not affect his relation to the holder of the 
note, but is only a memorandum between him and the person 
for whom he signs. 

Three days “grace,” as it is called, are allowed on all notes 
and bills. Thus, if a note is made payable “sixty days after 
date,” it is not in law due until the sixty-third day. 

When two or more persons join in making a note, as, for ex¬ 
ample, “ six months after date, for value received, we promise 
to pay,” etc., it is a joint note, and if suit is commenced for its 
collection all of the signers must be included, but it is not neces¬ 
sary that they should all be served with summons; but where 


COMMERCIAL LAW AND BUSINESS FORMS. 569 

judgment is obtained, execution may be levied upon the prop¬ 
erty of any of them who were served. 

If a note is drawn, 44 we jointly and severally promise to pay,” 
collection may be enforced against either or any of the signers, 
or against all of them. 

When a note is made payable to the order of another person, 
and is endorsed by such person, if it is not paid when due, the 
endorser must be served with a notice of protest within 24 hours, 
in order to hold him. 

Notes of protest may be sent either to the place of business or 
residence of the party notified. 

If the letter containing a protest of non-payment be put into 
the post-office, any miscarriage does not affect the party giving 
notice. 

If a note is lost or stolen it does not release the maker; he. 
must pay it if the consideration for which it was given and the-, 
amount can be proven. 

The loss of a note is no excuse for not giving notice of protest. 

If two or more persons, as partners are jointly liable on a note or 
bill, due notice to one of them is sufficient. 

The holder of a note may give notice of protest either to all! 
the previous indorsers, or only to one of them; in case of the; 
latter, he must select the last indorser, and the last must give* 
notice to the last before him, and so on. Each indorser must 
send notice the same day or day following. Neither Sundays nor 
legal holidays are to be counted in reckoning the time in which 
notice is to be given. 

The maker and endorser of a note may be sued either jointly 
or separately. 

Joint payees of a bill or note, who are not partners, must all 
join in an endorsement. 

A Draft or Bill of Exchange is an order by one person on 
another to pay money to a third person. 

A draft should be presented for payment or acceptance within 
a reasonable time. 

The law governing protests for non-payment is the same in 
drafts as in notes. 

There are both 44 sight drafts” and “time drafts.” A sight 
draft is expected to be paid 44 at sight,” or on presentation. A 



570 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


time draft is for money to be paid at a given time, or within a 
certain time “from sight.” 

When a time draft is presented, if the person on whom it is 
drawn intends to pay it, he will write the word “Accepted,” or 

“Accepted, payable at-across the face of it, with his 

name and the date. If the person refuses^to accept the draft, it is 
protested for non-acceptance ; or if accepted and not paid when 
due, it is protested for non-payment. 

There is this difference between a note and a draft: That the 
party making a note is the one who is presumed to have received 
value for it, and is regarded as the principal debtor; while in 
the case of a draft the party who accepts it becomes the princi¬ 
pal debtor, and liable both to the maker and holder, although 
the holder has recourse upon the maker for the amount. 

The foregoing rules both as regards contracts and liabilities 
in general, and notes and drafts, are common law rules, but sub¬ 
ject to such changes as may have been made by the statutes of 
the States. 


BUSINESS FORMS IN COMMON USE. 

The following are among the more common forms used in 
transacting ordinary business. The forms for notes and drafts 
should be studied in connection with remarks foregoing. 

Form No. 1. —Negotiable Note. 

$400 Little Rock, Ark., June 1, 1884. 

Three months after date, I promise to pay Oliver Wise, or t order, Four 
Hundred Dollars, for value received. John Honest. 

Form No. 2.—Note not Negotiable. 

$500 St. Louis, Mo., June 1, 1884. 

Three months after date, for value received, I promise to pay Thomas 
Bellows, Five Hundred Dollars. William T. Good. 

Form No. 3.—Note Payable at a Bank. 

$1,000 San Francisco, Cal., June 1, 1884. 

Three months after date, I promise to pay to the order of Hiram Howe, 
the Sum of One Thousand Dollars, value received, at Park National Bank, 
New York. Peter Punctual. 


Form No. 4.—Demand Note. 

$300 Waco, Texas, June 1, 1884. 

On demand I promise to pay John Roberts, or order, Three Hundred 
Dollars, value received, with interest. William Williams. 



COMMERCIAL LAW AND BUSINESS FORMS. 571 

Form No. 5.— Joint Note. 

•$349.50 Santa Barbara, Cal., June 1, 1884. 

Six months after date we jointly and severally promise to pay Orange 
Tine, or order, Three Hundred and Forty-nine Dollars and Fifty Cents, 
value received, with interest. John Jones, 

David Paul. 

Form No. 6.—Note Payable by Installments. 

$100 Denver, Col., June 1, 1884. 

For value received, I promise to pay to John Jameson, or order, One 
Hundred Dollars, in the way and manner following, to wit: Fifty Dollars 
in three months from date, and Fifty Dollars in four months, with interest 
•on the several sums as they become due. Alex. Adams. 

Form No. 7.— Note Payable in Merchandise. 

$700 Slabtown, Pa., June 1, 1884. 

For value received, on or before the first day of November next, I prom¬ 
ise to pay to A. Gibson, or order, Seven Hundred Dollars in good merchant¬ 
able Hemlock Logs, at his Sawmill in this city, at the market value on the 
maturity of this note. John Lumberman. 

Form No. 8.—Due Bill. 

$140 T f $ 5 - Appleton City, Mo., June 1, 1884. 

Due to Benjamin Baxter, or order, on demand. One Hundred and Forty 
Dollars, value received. J. B. Berry. 

Form No. 9.— Due Bill Payable in Merchandise. 

$200 Dickerville, Ill., June 1, 1884. 

Due on demand, to R. Robbins, Two Hundred Dollars, in merchandise 
from our store. Farwel & Co. 

Form No. 10.— Bank Check. 

No. 600 St. Louis, Mo., June 1, 1884. 

Chemical National Bank. 

Pay to Peter Cooper, or order, Three Thousand-Dollars. 

.$3,000 Thos. Concession. 

Form No. 11.— Bank Draft. 

$6,300 Golden Gate Bank. No. 197 

San Francisco, Cal., June 1, 1884. 

Pay to the order of Broker & Banker, Six Thousand and Three Hundred 
Dollars. Duplicate unpaid. 

G. A. Competent, Cashier. 

To First Nat. Bank, Chicago, Ill. 

Form No. 12.— Sight Draft. 

$600 Los Angeles, Cal., June 1, 1884. 

At Sight, pay to the order of R. Robbins & Co., Six Hundred Dollars, 
value received, and charge the same to our account. 

George Greene & Co. 


To James Jameson, Chicago, Ill. 


572 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


Form No. 13.—Time Draft. 

$250 Texarkana, Ark., June 1, 1884. 

Thirty days after date, pay to the order of Henry Hall, Two Hundred 
and Fifty Dollars, value received, and charge to our account. 

T. Tomkins & Co. 

To Ready Cash, Esq., 19 Levee, New Orleans, La. 

Form No. 14.—Foreign Bills of Exchange. 

Exchange for £5,000 New Orleans, La., June 1, 1884. 

Ten days after sight of this First of Exchange (our Second and Third 
unpaid), pay to the Order of David Doane, Five Thousand Pounds Ster¬ 
ling, value received, and charge the same without further advice, to 

Brown Brothers & Co.. 

To Baring Brothers, 

No. 220 London, Eng. 

[Foreign drafts are made in triplicate, and are all in the same form, ex'- 
cept that the words in parentheses are made to read: “ Our first and second 
unpaid,” and “ our first and third unpaid,” respectively. The object is, 
that if one gets lost the corresponding one may be used.] 

Form No. 15.— Receipt on Account. 

Received, Memphis, Tenn., June 1, 1884, of Peter Paywell, Seventy-five 
Dollars on account. R. Roberts.. 

$75 

Form No. 16.— Receipt in Full. 

Vicksburg, Miss., June 1, 1884. 

Received of John Jones, One Hundred Dollars, in full of all demands to' 
date. Henry Black. 

$100 

Form No. 17.— Receipt for Money Advanced on a Contract. 
$1,000 Leadville, Col., June 1, 1884. 

Received of A. Householder, One Thousand Dollars in advance, on a con¬ 
tract to build for him a Frame House on Second street. 

R. Carpenter. 

Form No. 18.— Receipt for Rent. 

$2C0 Kansas City, Mo., June 1, 1884. 

Received of A. Tenant, Two Hundred Dollars in full for one quarter’s 1 
rent for store and dwelling on Main street. Charles Chilson. 

Form No. 19.— Receipt for Note. 

$400 St. Louis, Mo., June 1, 1884. 

Received of Hiram Holtz, his note for Four Hundred Dollars at three 
months, in full of account. Thomas Farson. 


COMMERCIAL LAW AND BUSINESS FORMS. 


573 


Form No. 20.— Order for Money. 

Baltimore, Md., June 1, 1884. 

Mr. Hiram Hill, 

Please pay Thomas Taylor, or Bearer, Fifty Dollars on my account. 

Henry Hill. 

Form No. 21.— Order for Merchandise. 

Credit Valley, Mo., June 1, 1884. 

Mr. R. T. Robbins, 

Please deliver to the bearer, Joseph James, such goods as he may desire 
from your store to the amount of Sixty-five Dollars, and charge the _same 
to my account. George Gardiner. 

Form No. 22.—Letter of Credit. 

Savannah, Ga., June 1, 1884. 

Gentlemen: —Allow me to introduce to you the bearer, Mr. J. S. Hen¬ 
derson; should he make a selection from your stock to the amount of One 
Thousand Dollars, I will be answerable for that sum in case of his non¬ 
payment. Yours truly, 

Rufus Richardson. 

To Lord & Taylor, New York. 

Form No 28.— Landlord’s Agreement. 

This certifies that I have let and rented, this first day of June, 1884, unto 
William Walker, my house and lot No. 29 Gramercy Park, New York, and 
its appurtenances; he to have the free and uninterrupted occupation there¬ 
of for one year from this date, at the yearly rental of One Thousand Dol¬ 
lars, to be paid monthly in advance (or, “ as due ”); rent to cease if destroyed 
by the elements, or otherwise made untenantable. Robert Richman. 

Form No. 24.— Tenant’s Agreement. 

This certifies that I have hired and taken from Robert Richman, his 
house and lot No. 29 Gramercy Park, New York, with appurtenances 
thereto belonging, for one year, to commence this day, at a yearly rental of 
One Thousand Dollars, to be paid monthly in advance, unless said house 
becomes untenantable from fire or other causes, in which case rent ceases; 
and I further agree to give and yield said premises one year from this first 
day of June, 1884, in as good condition as now, ordinary wear and damage 
by the elements excepted. 

Given under my hand this day. William Walker. 

Form No. 25.—Common Bond. 

Know all Men by these presents, that I, David Dean, of Frederick, 
Md., am held and firmly bound unto Samuel Scott of the place aforesaid, 
in the sum of six hundred dollars, to be paid to the said Samuel Scott, his 
heirs or assigns; for which payment to be well and truly made, I bind my¬ 
self, my heirs and assigns, by these presents. 

Sealed with my seal, and dated this first day of June, one thousand eight 
hundred and eighty-four. 

The condition of this obligation is such, that if I, David Dean, my heirs. 


574 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


assigns, or executors, shall promptly pay to the said Samuel Scott, his heirs: 
or assigns, the sum of six hundred dollars in three equal annual install¬ 
ments from the date hereof, wifh annual interest, then the above obligation; 
to be void; otherwise to be in full force and virtue. 

Sealed and delivered in David Dean, [l. s.] 

presence of Caleb Clark. 

THIRTY-EIGHT BUSINESS RULES. 

1. In business hours attend only to business matters, 

2. Confine social calls to the social circle. 

3. State your business in few words, without loss of time. 

4. Let dealings with a stranger be carefully considered, and 
let tried friendship be duly appreciated. 

5. A mean act soon recoils, and a man of honor will be es¬ 
teemed. 

6.. Treat all with respect, confide in few, wrong no man. 

7. Never be afraid to say no, and always be prompt to ac¬ 
knowledge and rectify a wrong. 

8. Leave nothing for to-morrow that should be done to-day. 

9. Because a friend is polite, do not think his time is valu- 
less. 

10. Have a place for everything, and everything in its place. 

11. To preserve long friendship, keep a short credit. 

12. The way to get credit is to be punctual. 

13. To preserve credit, do not use it much. 

14. Settle often ; have short accounts. 

15. Trust no man's appearances, they are often deceptive. 

16. Rogues generally dress well. 

17. Be well satisfied before you give a credit, that those to 
whom you give it are safe men. 

18. Be strict in keeping engagements. 

19. Do nothing carelessly or in a hurry. 

20. Employ nobody to do what you can easily do yourself. 

21. Leave nothing undone that ought to be done, and which 
circumstances permit. 

22. Keep your designs and business from others, yet be candid 
with all. 

23. Be prompt and decisive with customers, and do not over¬ 
trade. 

24. Prefer short credit to long, cash to credit, either in buy- 


COMMERCIAL LAW AND BUSINESS FORMS. 575 

ing or selling, and small profits with little risk, to the chance of 
better gains with more hazards. 

25. Be clear and explicit in bargains. 

26. Leave nothing of consequence to memory which can be 
committed to writing. 

27. Keep copies of all important letters, etc. 

28. Never suffer your desk to be confused by papers lying 
upon it. 

29. Keep everything in its proper place. 

30. Always be at the head of your business. 

31. Constantly examine your books, and see through all affairs 
as far as care and attention will enable you. 

32. Balance accounts regularly. 

33. Make out and transmit all accounts current to customers, 
both at home and abroad. 

34. Avoid all sorts of accommodation in money matters and 
lawsuits where there is the least hazard. 

35. Be economical in expenditure, always living within your 
income. 

36. Keep a memorandum book in your pocket, in which you 
note every particular relative to appointments, addresses, and 
petty cash. 

37. Be cautious how you become security for any person. 

38. Be generous when urged by motives of humanity. 


INTEREST AND TAXATION. 

How Money Grows at Interest. —If one dollar be in¬ 
vested and the interest added to the principal annually at the 
rates named, we shall have the following result as the accumula¬ 
tion of one hundred years: 


One dollar, 100 years, at 1 per cent.$2 75 

One dollar, 100 years, at 2 per cent.$7 25 

One dollar, 100 years, at 3 per cent.$19 25 

One dollar, 100 years, at 4 per cent.$50 50 

One dollar, 100 years, at 5 per cent.$131 50 

One dollar, 100 years, at 6 per cent.$340 00 

One dollar, 100 years, at 7 per cent.$868 00 

One dollar, 100 years, at 8 per cent.$2,203 00 

One dollar, 100 years, at 9 percent.$5,513 00 

One dollar, 100 vears, at 10 per cent.$13,809 00 

One dollar, 100 years, at 12 per cent.$84,675 00 

One dollar, 100 years, at 15 per cent.$1,174,405 00 















576 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


TABLES FOR COMPUTING INTEREST. 

For practical purposes the following tables will enable almost 
any person to readily compute the interest on such sums as usu¬ 
ally enter into neighborhood transactions. The tables are given 
at 6, 7, and 10 per cent., the month being on the basis of 30 
days and the year 360 days. 

To find the interest at other rates per cent, than those of the 
tables, proceed as follows : 

For Three Per Cent.—C ompute by the six per cent, table, 
and divide by two. 

For Four Per Cent. —Compute by the six per cent, table, 
divide by three, and multiply the quotient by two. 

For Five Per Cent.—C ompute by the ten per cent, table, 
and divide by two. 

For Eight Per Cent. —Compute by the six and ten per 
cent, tables, add both together, and divide by two. 

For Nine Per Cent. —Compute by the six per cent, table, 
multiply by three, and divide by two. 

AT SIX PER CENT. 


Ain’t. 

1 day. 

15 days. 

1 mo. 

3 mos. 

6 mos. 

12 mos. 

$ 

$ c. 

$ c. 

$ c. 

$ c. 

$ c. 

$ c. 

1 

00 

ooi 

ooi 

OH 

03 

06 

2 

00 

ooi 

01 

03 

06 

12 

3 

00 

00f 

Oil 

041 

09 

18 

4 

00 

01 

02 

06 

12 

24 

5 

00 

Oil 

021 

071 

15 

30 

6 

00 

oil 

03 

09 

18 

36 

7 

00 

Olf 

031 

101 

21 

42 

8 

00 

02 

04 

12 

24 

48 

9 

00 

021 

041 

131 

27 

54 

10 

00 

02i 

05 

15 

30 

60 

20 

001 

05 

10 

30 

60 

1.20 

30 

001 

071 

15 

45 

90 

1.80 

40 

Off 

10 

20 

60 

1.20 

2.40 

50 

01 

121 

25 

75 

1.50 

3.00 

100 

oil 

25 

50 

1.50 

3.00 

6.00 

200 

03 

50 

1.00 

3.00 

6.00 

12.00 

300 

05 

75 

1.50 

4.50 

9.00 

18.00 

400 

07 

1.00 

2.00 

6.00 

12.00 

24.00 

500 

08 

1.25 

2.50 

7.50 

15.00 

30.00 

1000 

17 

2.50 

5.00 

15.00 

30.00 

60.00 

2000 

33 

5.00 

10.00 

30.00 

60.00 

120.00 

3000 

50 

7.50 

15.00 

45.00 

90.00 

180.00 

4000 

67 

10.00 

20.00 

60.00 

120.00 

240.00 

5000 

83 

12.50 

25.00 

75.00 

150.00 

300.00 

10000 

1.67 

25.00 

50.00 

150.00 

300.00 

600.00 












INTEREST AND TAXATION, 


577 


AT SEVEN PER CENT. 


Am’t. 

1 day. 

15 days. 

1 mo. 

3 mos. 

6 mos. 

12 mos. 

$ 

$ c. 

$ c. 

$ c. 

$ c. 

$ c. 

$ c. 

1 

00 

00i 

004 

Olf 

034 

07 

2 

00 

004 

014 

034 

07 

14 

3 

00 

00| 

01| 

054 

104 

21 

4 

00 

01 

024 

07 

14“ 

28 

5 

00 

014 

03 

08| 

174 

35 

6 

00 

01f 

034 

104 

21 

42 

7 

00 

02 

04 

124 

244 

49 

8 

00 

024 

04§ 

14 

28 

56 

9 

00 

024 

054 

154 

314 

63 

10 

00* 

03 

05f 

m 

35 

70 

20 

001 

06 

Ilf 

35 

70 

1 40 

30 

00£ 

09 

174 

524 

1 05 

2 10 

40 

OOf 

12 

234 

70 

1 40 

2 80 

50 

01 

15 

294 

874 

1 75 

3 50 

100 

02 

29 

584 

1 75 

3 50 

7 00 

200 

04 

58 

1 16| 

3 50 

7 00 

14 00 

300 

06 

874 

1 75 

5 25 

10 50 

21 00 

400 

08 

1 17 

2 334 

7 00 

14 00 

28 00 

500 

10 

1 46 

2 91f 

8 75 

17 50 

35 00 

1000 

194 

2 92 

5 834 

17 50 

35 00 

70 00 

2000 

39 

5 83 

11 66| 

35 00 

70 00 

140 00 

.'3000 

58 

8 75 

17 50 

52 50 

105 00 

210 00 

4000 

78 

11 67 

23 334 

70 00 

140 00 

280 00 

5000 

97 

14 58 

29 16f 

87 50 

175 00 

350 00 

10000 

1 94 

29 17 

58 33 

175 00 

350 00 

700 00 


AT TEN PER CENT. 


TIME. 

$1 

$2 

$5 

$8 

$10 

$40 

$50 

$100 

$1000 

4 Days. 

0 

0 

1 

1 

1 

4 

5 

11 

1 11 

8 

0 

0 

1 

2 

2 

8 

11 

22 

2 22 

12 

0 

1 

2 

3 

3 

12 

16 

33 

3 33 

16 

0 

1 

2 

4 

4 

16 

22 

44 

4 44 

20 “ 

1 

1 

3 

4 

6 

24 

28 

56 

5 56 

24 “ 

1 

1 

3 

5 

7 

28 

33 

67 

6 67 

28 “ 

1 

2 

4 

6 

8 

32 

39 

78 

7 78 

1 Month. 

1 

2 

4 

7 

8 

32 

42 

83 

8 33 

2 “ 

2 

3 

8 

13 

17 

68 

83 

1 67 

16 67 

3 “ 

3 

5 

12 

20 

25 

1 00 

1 25 

2 50 

25 00 

4 *• 

3 

7 

17 

27 

33 

1 32 

1 65 

3 33 

33 33 

5 “ 

4 

8 

21 

33 

42 

1 68 

2 08 

4 17 

41 67 

6 “ 

5 

10 

25 

40 

50 

2 00 

2 50 

5 00 

50 00 

1 Year. 

10 

20 

50 

80 

1 00 

4 00 

5 00 

10 00 

100 00 










































578 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

LAWS GOVERNING INTEREST AND USURY. 


The following table shows the legal rate of interest where? 
there is no contract price, the extreme rate under special con¬ 
tract, and the penalty for usury in the different states: 


States and 

Territories. 

Legal Int. 

per cent. 

Special 

Contracts. 

per cent. 

Penalty for Usury. 

Alabama. 

8 

8 

Forfeit all interest. 

Arkansas. 

6 

10 

Forfeit principal and interests 
None. 

Arizona. 

10 

California. 

10 


None. 

Colorado. 

10 


None. 

Connecticut. 

7 

7 

Forfeit excess of interest. 

Dakota Territory.. 

7 

12 

Forfeit all interest. 

Delaware. 

6 

6 

Forfeit principal. 

Forfeit all interest. 

District of Columbia. 

6 

10 

Florida. 

8 

None. 

Georgia. 

7 

12 

Forfeit all interest. 

Idaho Territory. 

10 

24 

Fine and imprisonment. 
Forfeit all interest. 

Illinois. 

6 

10 

Indiana. 

6 

10 

Forfeit excess of interest. 

Iowa. 

6 

10 

Forfeit all interest. 

Kansas. 

8 

12 

Forfeit all interest over 12. 

Kentucky. 

6 

8 

Forfeit all interest. 

Louisiana. 

5 

8 

Forfeit all interest. 

Maine. 

6 


None. 

Maryland. 

6 

’6 

Forfeit excess of interest. 

Massachusetts,. 

6 


None. 

Michigan. 

7 

io 

Forfeit excess over 7 per cent. 
None. 

Minnesota. 

7 

12 

Mississippi. 

6 

10 

Forfeit excess of interest. 

Missouri. 

6 

10 

Forfeit all interest. 

Montana Territory. 

10 

None. 

Nebraska. 

10 

12 

Forfeit all interest. 

Nevada. 

10 


None. 

New Hampshire. 

6 

6 

Forfeit 3 times excess & costs. 
Forfeit of all interest. 

New Jersey. 

7 

7 

New Mexico. 

6 


None. 

New York. 

7 

*7 

Forfeit of contract. 

Forfeit of all interest. 

North Carolina. 

6 

8 

Ohio. 

6 

8 

Forfeit excess over 6 per cent.. 
Forfeit principal and interest. 
Forfeit excess of interest. 
None. 

Oregon. 

10 

12 

Pennsylvania. 

6 

6 

Rhode Island. 

6 

South Carolina. 

7 


N©ne. 

Tennessee. 

6 

io 

Forfeit excess of interest. 
Forfeit excess of interest. 
None. 

Texas. 

8 

12 

Utah Territory. 

10 

Vermont. 

6 

6 

Forfeit excess of interest. 
Forfeit of all interest. 

None. 

Virginia. 

6 

6 

Washington Territory. 

10 

West Virginia. 

6 

6 

Forfeit excess of interest. 
Forfeit of all interest. 

None. 

Wisconsin. 

7 

10 

Wyoming Territory. 

12 


























































INTEREST AND TAXATION. 


57^ 


Table of Days. —The following table, showing the number 
of days from any date in any one month to the same date in any 
other month, will be of service in computing interest : 


From To 

1 

Feb. 

1 

April. 

May. 

June. 

3 

*“S 

fab 

0 

< 

1 . 
& 

GO 

o 

> 

o 

fc 

j Dec. 

January. 

365 

31 

59 

90 

120 

151 

181 

212 

243 

273 

304 

334 

February. 

334 

365 

28 

59 

89 

120 

150 

181 

212 

242 

273 

303 

March. 

306 

337 

365 

31 

61 

92 

122 

153 

184 

214 

245 

275- 

April. 

275 

306 

334 

365 

30 

61 

91 

122 

153 

183 

214 

244 

May. 

245 

276 

304 

335 

365 

31 

61 

92 

123 

153 

184 

214 

June. 

214 

245 

273 

304 

334 

365 

80 

61 

92 

122 

153 

183 

July. 

184 

215 

243 

274 

304 

335 

365 

31 

62 

92 

123 

153 

August. 

153 

184 

212 

243 

273 

304 

334 

365 

81 

61 

92 

122 

September. 

122 

153 

181 

212 

242 

273 

304 

334 

365 

30 

61 

91 

October. 

92 

123 

151 

182 

212 

243 

273 

304 

335 

365 

31 

61 

November. 

61 

92 

120 

151 

181 

212 

242 

273 

304 

334 

365 

30‘ 

December. 

31 

62 

90 

121 

151 

1821212' 

243 

274 

304 

335 

365 


Example: How many days from the 2d of February to the 2d 
of August? Look for February at the left hand and August at 
the top; the figures in the angle are 181. In leap year, add one 
day if February be included. 

FACTS CONCERNING INTEREST. 

The courts generally award interest, computed at the legal 
rate, from the time when a payment should have been made. 
Interest upon a judgment dates from the time the judgment is- 
rendered. 

A creditor may charge interest on his claim from the time it 
becomes due. When time is not specified for payment, interest 
may be charged from the time when payment is demanded, or 
when a statement of the account is rendered. Interest may not 
be charged on a running account until a balance is struck and a 
statement rendered. 

Compound interest is seldom recoverable by law, even where 
it is expressly agreed to. But when interest has accrued, and is 
payable, it may be added to the principal by mutual agreement, 
and simple interest be charged thereon and be collected. Com¬ 
pound interest, when paid, is not recoverable, even though the 
courts would not have enforced its payment originally. 

Guardians, executors, administrators and trustees of any kind,, 
may be charged interest upon trust funds in their hands, if they 
fail to invest them after a reasonable time. 
































.580 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


In computing interest it is usual to cast cents of principal out 
of the account. If these are less than fifty they are omitted. If 
more than fifty they are usually reckoned as a dollar. 

For convenience of computation, the year is usually reckoned 
at 360 days only. Rules and interest tables are usually con¬ 
structed upon this plan. For greater exactness, however, they 
are sometimes worked out on the basis of the full year. 

Three days of grace are usually allowed on notes, but interest 
is computed for these days. The “ grace ” applies simply to the 
delayed maturing of the note, not to the free use of the money. 

TAXATION. 

Taxes are levied for state and local purposes according to the 
value of the property, personal and real, of each inhabitant, 
which is first “assessed" by having a valuation put upon it by 
an assessing officer. The theory is that all property shall be 
.assessed at its actual cash value, though in practice it is seldom 
valued above one-half to three-fifths of what it would be held at 
if offered for sale, and in many cases not more than one-third. 
But if the valuation is equal, the rule or ratio by which it is 
reached makes no essential difference. 

In the calculation of general taxes for a large number of per¬ 
sons, a table is formed, giving the tax on $1, $2, etc., to $9, 
then on $10, $20, etc., to $90, then on $100, etc., by which the 
labor is greatly facilitated. If the rate on $1 be 15 mills, the 
following table would be correct, and would greatly aid the com¬ 
putation. The first column indicates the value of the prop¬ 
erty and the second the amount of tax. 


Prop. 

Tax. 

Prop. 

Tax. 

Prop. 

Tax. 

Prop. 

Tax. 

Prop. 

Tax. 

$1 

.015 

$10 

.15 

$100 

$ 1.50 

$1,000 

$ 15 

■m 

1— i 
© 

© 

© 

© 

$ 150 

2 

.030 

20 

.30 

200 

3.00 

2,000 

30 

20,000 

300 

3 

.045 

30 

.45 

300 

4.50 

3,000 

45 

30,000 

450 

4 

.000 

40 

.60 

400 

6.00 

4,000 

60 

40,000 

600 

5 

.075 

50 

.75 

500 

7 50 

5,000 

75 

50,000 

750 

6 

.090 

60 

.90 

600 

9.00 

6,000 

90 

60,000 

900 

7 

.105 

70 

1.05 

700 

10.50 

7,000 

105 

70,000 

1,050 

8 

.120 

80 

1,20 

800 

12.00 

8.000 

120 

80,000 

1,200 

9 

.135 

90 

1.35 

900 

13.50 

9,000 

135 

90,000 

1,350 


Any sum may be computed readily by means of this table. If, 



















TIME AND MONEY. 


581' 


for example, the property under consideration be valued at $67,- 
392, proceed as follows: 

$60,000 incur tax $900 
7,000 “ “ 105 

300 “ “ 4.50 

90 “ « 1.35 

2 “ " 03 

$1,010.88 Total. 

A personal tax, called a “poll tax,” is required in most of the 
States, but it is usually appropriated to the improvement of high¬ 
ways, and goes into the general tax only in a few instances in the 
larger towns, and in such cases is carried out in a separate- 
column. 


TIME AND MONEY. 

It is a well known proverb that “time is money,” and hence 
there is some propriety in coupling some facts and statistics re¬ 
lating to the computation of time and the measure and value of 
money under a common head. 


MEASURE OF TIME. 


Time is measured by seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, 
months, years, decades, and centuries—thus : 


60 seconds make 1 minute. 
60 minutes make 1 hour. 
24 hours make 1 day. 

7 days make 1 week. 


12 months ) k < vpar 
365 days f ma *elyear. 

10 years make 1 decade. 

10 decades (100 years) make 1 century 


Of the months, 7 have 31 days, 4 have 30 days, and one has • 
28 days; or, as we used to read in Peter Parley’s Geography: 


“ Thirty days hath September, 

April, June, and November; 

All the rest have thirty-one, 

Except February alone, 

Which contains eight and a score, 
But every leap-year has one more.” 





.582 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

The solar year consists of 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, ana 
49 seconds; this excess oyer 365 days (nearly 6 hours, or J day), 
is allowed to accumulateUirough each 4 years, and is provided for 
every fourth, or leap year, by adding 1 day to February; but as 
this is adding a trifle too much, every four hundred years one 
leap year is omitted, and this occurs when the year is divisible 
by 400 without remainder, which will be in the year 2000. Thus, 
every fourth, year, counting from the beginning of any cen¬ 
tury, is leap-year, except every 400th year, when leap-year fails 
to put in an appearance. 

In the year 1582, the fact was observed by Pope Gregory XIII. 
that, in consequence of this discrepancy not having been taken 
into account since the commencement of the Julian system, the 
true time exceeded the time as then reckoned by 10 days; and 
therefore ordered the 11th of March to be accounted the 21st. 
The Pope’s edict was generally observed by the nations subject 
to his authority, but the Protestant countries continued the use 
of the Julian reckoning. This gave rise to the two modes of 
computation still found in Europe, called the old style and 
new style. The latter was adopted in England in 1752, by mak¬ 
ing the 1st of September the 12th. 

RAILROAD STANDARD TIME. 

A most important arrangement was entered into by the great 
railway lines of the continent, which went into effect on the 1st 
of January, 1884, by the establishment of standards of time for 
running railway trains. Under the old system, a road whose 
trains were run by New York time, was 30 minutes out of time 
with roads run by the Cleveland standard, while the latter were 
nearly that much out with those run by the Chicago standard. 
The new arrangement was made to reduce, as far as practicable, 
the inconvenience of different roads running by so many differ¬ 
ent standards. 

The difference in time between the eastern and western shores 
of the continent is about four hours; so that a man leaving, say 
Portland, Maine, with his watch set by the time at that place, 
and traveling to Portland, Oregon, would find his time about 
three hours and a half too slow. The new arrangement estab¬ 
lishes five standard meridian lines, dividing the continent into 
as many sections. 


TIME AND MONEY. 


583 


Meridian lines are imaginary longitudinal lines traversing the 
earth lengthwise from pole to pole; they are computed from 
the English national observatory at Greenwich, on a basis of 
60 miles apart. These are called degrees of longitude, and 
15 degrees make 900 miles, so that computing time by the sun, 
there is a difference of one hour between any two points 900 
miles apart situated on a direct east and west line. The rail¬ 
ways have established their meridians at 15 degrees (900 miles) 
distance from each other, so that there is exactly an hour differ¬ 
ence in mean solar time from one to the other. 

The first of these is called Intercolonial Time, and is the 60th 
meridian, which is in the Atlantic ocean beyond the eastern 
bounds of the continent. 

The second is called Eastern Time, and is the 75th merid¬ 
ian, or about on a line with the city of Philadelphia. 

The third is called Central Time, and is the 90th meridian, 
or a little east of St. Louis. 

The fourth is called Mountain Time, and is the 105th merid¬ 
ian, or on a line exact or nearly so with the city of Denver. 

The fifth is called Pacific Time, and is the 120th meridian, 
or on the boundary line between California and Nevada. 

The railways, in issuing their time cards, announce by which 
standard their trains are run. The roads in the extreme east¬ 
ern British provinces use the Intercolonial standard; those in 
other parts of Canada, the Eastern States, and as far south as 
the Carolinas, use the Eastern standard; the Western and 
Southern roads the Central. The Pacific roads are governed by 
the different standards within which the several sections of their 
lines lie. 

Many localities have adopted and are governed by the standard 
time of the meridian nearest to which they are situated. But 
jet there is a difference at all points between standard time and 
mean solar time, except points directly on the meridian lines. 
To show this difference, the table that appears on the two fol¬ 
lowing pages has been compiled expressly for this work by Mr. 
C. W. Carman, assistant to the Director of the Detroit Observa¬ 
tory of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. 


COMPARATIVE TABLE OF STANDARD AND MEAN SOLAR TIME. 


584 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


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586 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


HOW TIME IS COMPUTED. 

When Julius Cassar became master of the Roman State, he ad¬ 
justed the year according to the course of the sun, and assigned 
to each month the number of days which it still contains. This 
is the famous Julian Year, which continues in use to this day 
without any variation except that of the old and new style, else¬ 
where noted. The Romans divided their months into three 
parts, by Calends, Nones, and Ides. The 1st day was called the 
Calends, the 5th day the Nones, and the 13th the Ides; except 
in March, May, July, and October, when the Nones fell on the 
7th, and the Ides on the 15th. The custom of dividing time 
into weeks was introduced under the Emperors, being derived 
from the Egyptians; and the days of the week were named from 
the planets, viz.: Dies Solis, Sunday; Lunas, Monday; Martis, 
Tuesday; Mercurii, Wednesday; Jovis, Thursday; Veneris, Fri¬ 
day; Saturni, Saturday. In marking the days, they counted 
backwards; thus they called the last day of December, Pridie 
Calendas Januarii, or the day before the Calends of January; the 
30th day they called the second day before the Calends of Janu¬ 
ary; and so on through the year. In leap-year the 24th and 25 th 
days of February were both called the 6th day before the Ca¬ 
lends of March, and hence this year is called Bissextilis, or “two 
sixes.” The day, as with us, was divided into twelve hours, and 
lasted from 6 o'clock in the morning till six in the evening. 
The night was divided into four watches, of three hours each. 
The Romans had no clocks or watches, and the first dial is said 
to have been erected in Rome 447 years after the building of the 
city. 

MONEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The dollar is the unit of the monetary system of the United 
States. All coins below the denomination of one dollar are 
fractional coins. These are of silver, copper, and nickle, as 
follows: 

The cent, copper, 100 of which make 1 dollar. 

The 3-cent piece, nickle, 33£ of which make 1 dollar. 

EE piece Se f » of which mate 1 dollar. 

The dime, silver, 10 of which make 1 dollar. 

The quarter, silver, 4 of which make 1 dollar. 

The half dollar, 2 of which make 1 dollar. 

And the standard silver dollar, the unit of the system. 

The government has also coined what is known as the silver 


GOVERNMENT LAND AND POSTAL LAW. 587 

trade dollar, which is used for certain commercial purposes, and 
although it contains more silver than the standard dollar, does 
not pass as currency except at a discount. 

The Gold Coins are: 

The single gold dollar The Eagle, $10.00. 

The \ Eagle, $2.50. The Double Eagle, $20.00. 

The 4 Eagle, $5.00. 

There is also the “ California Slug," so called, which has a 
value only as bullion, but which bears the stamp of the U. S. 
mint simply as certifying its weight and fineness. It is worth $50. 

The Paper Currency consists of the Greenbacks, so called, 
issued by the government, and the national currency issued by 
the national banks. These are of the denominations of $1, $2, 
$ 5 , $10, $20, $50, $100, $500, and $1,000. 


GOVERNMENT LAND AND POSTAL LAW. 

Government lands are surveyed by sections, each section when 
unbroken by boundary lines or by bodies of water or other ob¬ 
structions, containing 640 acres. Where the sections are thus 
broken, they are called “fractional" sections. Where small 
lakes are met with in surveying, the lines are usually run through 
them. In case of the larger lakes the lines terminate at high 
water mark, the sections or subdivisions being called fractional, 
and estimated to contain so many acres, “more or less." These 
lakes are called “ meandered " lakes, because the lines follow or 
meander their margins instead of passing through them. 

In making the surveys, a “ base line " running east and west, 
and a “ meridian line ” running north and south, are first estab¬ 
lished, so as to cross each other at or near the center of the sec¬ 
tion of territory to be surveyed. The surveys within the region 
are all made with reference to these two lines as bases. The 
lands are surveyed by sections, starting from the center or 
crossing point of the two lines, each way. Thirty-six sections 
make a surveyed township, or six miles square, and are num¬ 
bered from 1 to 36. These townships are numbered from one 
upward north and south from the base line, and by ranges east 
and west from the meridian line. The following diagram will 
illustrate the method : 




588 


N 


SOCIETY AND THE WOULD AT LARGE. 


W 


Range 1 TV 


a R1 W 


Range 1 East. 


Range 2 East. 


JRang 


e 1 East. a 


Rang 


e 2 East. a 


R 3 ] 


R 3 ] 


Range 1 W 


Range 1 East, 


Range 2 East. 


R ange 1 AV§ 


Range 1 East. 


6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

18 

ir 

16 

15 

14 

13 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

30 

29 

28 

27 

26 

25 

31 

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 


R 3 ] 


R3E 


S 

a , a, a, a, Base Line, b, b , b , 5, Meridian Line. 


Town 2 South. ITown 1 South. | ra Town 1 North. Town 2 North, 























































589 


GOVERNMENT LAND AND POSTAL LAW. 

One of the townships in the diagram is divided by sections. 
This township would be described as town 2 south, range 2 east; 
or, the second town south of the base line and the second east 
of the meridian line. As the sections are divided into quarters, 
and these again subdivided by quarters, there could be no more 
convenient method of describing the land, as for instance : 


The N. E. £ of the N. E. £ of sec. 1, T. 2 S., R. 2 E.—40 
Or, the N. £ of the N. E. £ of sec. 1, T. 2 S., R. 2 E —80 
Or, the N. E. £ of sec. 1, T. 2 S., R. 2 E.—160 acres. 

Or, the N. £ of sec. 1, T. 2 S., R. 2 E.—320 acres. 

Or, the whole of sec. 1, T.2S..R.2 E.—640 acres. 


acres. 

acres. 


The public lands are open to entry by actual settlers, 160 
acres to each head of a family, at simply a nominal charge for 
cost of survey and office fees, under what is called the home¬ 
stead law. They are open to entry by any person and in any 
quantity at the minimum price of 81.25 per acre, but when lands 
have been in the market for a given length of time and remain 
unsold, they are offered at a graduated scale below that price. 

Congress has by law donated to most (if not all) of the states 
and territories, section 16 of each surveyed township within the 
boundaries of the states and territories respectively, for educa¬ 
tional purposes. 

The public lands in the state of Texas belong to that state, 
having been reserved by the act of cession as an equivalent for 
the public debt of Texas, incurred during her struggle with 
Mexico for nationality; that is, when Texas came into the 
Union, she reserved her public lands to pay her debt with. 


DOMESTIC RATES OF POSTAGE. 

First Class. —Letters and all other written matter, whether 
sealed or unsealed, and all other matter sealed, nailed, sewed, 
tied, or fastened in any manner so that it cannot be easily exam¬ 
ined, two cents per half ounce, or fraction thereof. 

Postal cards, one cent each. Postal cards are unmailable with 
any writing or printing on the address side except the direction; 
or with anything pasted upon or attached to them. 

Second Class. —Only for publishers and news agents. 

Third Class. —Printed matter, in unsealed wrappers, one 
cent for each two ounces, or fraction thereof, which must be 


590 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


fully prepaid; as books, circulars, chromos, handbills, engrav¬ 
ings, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, music, proof sheets 
and accompanying manuscript, reproductions by any process 
(except handwriting and the copying press) not in the nature 
of personal correspondence. Limit of weight four pounds, 
except for a single book, which may weigh more. 

Fourth Class. —All mailable matter not included in the 
three preceding classes, which is so prepared for mailing as to 
be easily withdrawn from the wrapper and examined. Rate, 
one cent per ounce, or fraction thereof, which must be fully pre¬ 
paid in all cases. Limit of weight four pounds. 

On any third and fourth class packages may be written the 
names and numbers of articles enclosed. The sender is also 
allowed to mark a word or passage in a book or paper to which 
he desires to call special attention. He may also write a simple 
inscription, or dedication, upon the cover or blank leaves of a 
book or pamphlet. He may attach to articles of merchandise, 
by tag, or label, a mark, number, name, or letter for purpose of 
identification. Printed circulars may contain the written name 
of the sender and the date. The sender’s address, preceded by 
the word “ from,” may be added (inside or out) to any package. 
Any other writing on third or fourth class matter will subject 
the package to letter rates of postage, and render the sender 
liable to a fine of ten dollars for each offense. 

FOREIGN POSTAGE. 

The usual rate of postage for letters is 5 cents per \ ounce or 
fraction thereof. But for certainty, consult the postmaster. 
Prepayment is optional in most cases, but if not prepaid the 
postage is more. 

All postal cards addressed to a foreign country are charged 1 
cent additional. 

Newspapers, 1 cent for each 2 ounces, or fraction thereof. 

On all other printed matter, and samples, 1 cent for each 2 
ounces, or fraction thereof, and an additional 1 cent for each 
package. 

All matter, except letters, must be fully prepaid. 

< % a prepayment of 10 cents extra, all mailable packages, 
either domestic or foreign, may be registered. 


GOVERNMENT LAND AND POSTAL LAW. 


591 


All letters, postal cards, and printed matter, to the Dominion 
of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, etc., must be prepaid 
at the same rates as domestic postage. Samples, 10 cents for 8 
ounces or less. 

IMPORTANT POSTAL INFORMATION. 

Owing to the frequent handling all mail matter necessarily 
receives, it is advisable always to use good envelopes, as many 
of the thin ones split open, which excites suspicion and blame 
against entirely innocent officials. 

Prepayment of one full rate of postage on first class matter 
insures its being forwarded, but it is best to fully prepay, else 
the receiver of the letter must meet the deficiency. All mail, 
except first class matter, must be fully prepaid or it will not be 
forwarded. 

First class matter, when one full rate of postage has been pre¬ 
paid thereon, and all other matter when fully prepaid, may, 
at the request of the party addressed, be forwarded from one 
postoffice to another. Postmasters can return second, third and 
fourth class matter only upon receipt of postage stamps to 
cover remailing. A printed or written request on such matter, 
asking postmasters to notify sender of non-delivery, and of 
amount of postage required to return same, is allowable and 
will be honored. 

All inquiries relating to lost mail matter of any sort, either 
domestic or foreign, should be addressed to the Chief Inspector 
Postoffice Department, Washington, D. C. 

Inquiries relating to mail matter supposed to have been sent 
to the Dead Letter Office, should be sent to the Third Assistant 
Postmaster General. 

In all letters of inquiry fullest information must be given, such 
as name and address of sender or writer, date and place of mail¬ 
ing, to whom and to what address the article was mailed, and a 
brief description of the contents. Whenever it is known when 
or why a letter was sent to Dead Letter Office, this should be 
stated, as should the number of any registered matter. 

Always write “ Transient,” or “ General Delivery,” on matter 
for persons not located where you send mail to them. 


592 SOCIETY AND THE "WORLD AT LARGE. 

The following articles are unmailable, viz. : Poisons, inflam¬ 
mable and explosive articles, fatty substances, easy liquefiable 
substances, insects (except queen bees), live or dead animals not 
stuffed, reptiles, confectionery, pastes or confections, fruits or 
vegetable matter, and substances exhaling a bad odor, and every 
postal card upon which, or letters upon the envelope of which, 
obscene, lewd, indecent or lascivious drawings, terms, epithets, 
or language may be written or printed, and all matter concern¬ 
ing lotteries, so-called gift concerts, or other similar enterprises 
offering prizes, or concerning schemes devised and intended to 
defraud the public, or for the purpose of obtaining money or 
goods under false pretences. 

Manuscript for magazines, periodicals, or newspapers, and 
music and book manuscript, are subject to full letter postage, 
unless they are accompanied by proof-sheets of such manuscript, 
or of which proofs such manuscript is a correction or addition, 
in which cases the rate will be 1 cent for each 2 ounces or frac¬ 
tion thereof. 

Be sure that there is a postoffice at the place to which you 
send your letters, as matter not addressed to a postoffice cannot 
be forwarded. When directing to cities, always add the street 
and number, or postoffice box, of the person addressed unless 
marked “ Transient,” or " General Delivery.” 

To insure certainty in despatch of mail, give the county in 
which the postoffice is, and spell out the name of the State in 
full. 

If you will write or print your name and address (and the 
contents, if a package) in the upper left-hand corner of your 
mail matter, it will be returned to you for correction, if improp¬ 
erly addressed, or insufficiently paid, and if not called for at its 
destination, it can be returned to you without going to the 
Dead Letter Office. If a letter, it will be returned free. 

The name and address of the sender must be given on the 
outside of the envelope or wrapper of all registered articles. 
Registration does not make the department responsible for lost 
letters, but it does so mark the progress of a letter that tamper¬ 
ing with it is almost wholly impossible. 


MEASURES OF VARIOUS CAPACITY. 


593 


MEASURES OF YARIOUS CAPACITY. 

The geometrical law of measurement is from a point to a line; 
from a line to a superfices; from a superfices to a solid. A point 
is an indivisible part of space, having neither length, breadth nor 
thickness; a line is a figure of one dimension only, namely, length; 
a superfices is a figure of two dimensions, namely, length 
and breadth; a solid is a figure of three dimensions, namely, 
length, breadth and thickness. 

A superfices is the plane surface of any object, as a board, the 
side of a building, or a piece of ground with defined boundaries. 
A square superfices may be said to represent four points and 
four lines, the points designating the corners, and the lines the 
sides. To determine the superficial (or surface) area of any 
defined space, its length should be multiplied by its breadth. If 
for example we measure a section of wall and find it 10 feet high 
and 10 feet across, we know that it is 10 feet square, but it 
requires a further mental effort to determine the number of 
square feet that it contains. This we find by multiplying the 
height or length by the breadth, namely, ten times ten; which 
gives the number of square feet at one hundred. 

A solid, or measure of three dimensions, involves the cubic 
capacity of any object. Thus if we are in a room that is 10 feet 
square and 10 feet high, each one of its walls, the floor and ceil¬ 
ing, represents 100 feet of superficial or surface space. But this 
does not give its solid or cubic capacity. This is ascertained by 
multiplying the product of its superficial surface, or its length 
and breadth, by its thickness or height. Thus the number of 
square feet in the floor being 100, by multiplying 100 by 10 
gives the number of square or cubic feet in the room at 1,000. 

This is one of the simplest rules in mathematics, and yet many 
persons who are entirely familiar with it are frequently at a loss 
to apply it, or do not readily call it to mind, in estimating 
measures of capacity. It is given here simply as suggestive in 
such cases, and will be found useful many times in estimating 


594 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


the amount of land in a given tract, the amount of lumber in a 
given piece, or the amount of wood, that is, the number of cords 
or the fraction of a cord, in any given pile. 

LAND MEASUREMENT. 

The measure generally adopted in land surveying is called 
Gunter’s Chain. It is 22 yards in length, and contains 100 links, 
each link consequently being 7.92 inches long. The length of 
the chain was fixed at 22 yards, because a square whose side is 
22 yards (1 chain) contains exactly fa acre; in other words, a 
rectangular plot of ground 1 chain in width and 10 chains in 
length contains an acre, and a piece of ground forming a perfect 
square, 10 chains each way, would contain 10 acres. Eighty 
chains make 1 mile in length; and consequently, a square mile 
contains 640 acres. For surveying and laying out plats and 
building lots, a chain of 50 feet is usually employed by sur¬ 
veyors. 

TO FIND THE AMOUNT OF LAND IN ANY GIVEN PIECE. 

An acre of ground contains 43,560 square feet. To ascertain 
the number of square feet in any piece of land, measure its 
length and width in feet, and multiply the two. Having ascer¬ 
tained the number of feet, reduce them to acres by dividing the 
whole number of feet by 43,560. In measuring tracts of any 
considerable extent, the surveyor’s chain of 66 feet will be found 
the most convenient, and for smaller tracts, a tape-line measure 
or pole will serve a good purpose. The rod pole may be used, 
estimating its full length, 16| feet. 

The following table will show the square feet and the feet 
square of fractions of an acre: 


Fractions of 
an acre. 

Square feet. 

Feet square. 

Fractions of 
an acre. 

Square feet. 

Feet square. 

tV 

27224 

524 

4 

21780 

1474 

4 

5445 

73| 

1 

43560 

2084 

4 

10890 

104J 

2 

87120 

2954 

4 

14520 

1204 




















MEASURES OF YARIOUS CAPACITY. 


595 


MEASURING EXCAVATIONS. 

Excavations are measured by the cubic yard, or 27 cubic feet. 
If the ground is irregular, two, three or more dimensions are to 
be taken to obtain the mean or average depth of digging; this 
multiplied by the length or breadth of the superfices will be the 
cubic contents in feet; the result divided by 27 will give the 
number of cubic yards. 

In loose, loamy, or sandy soil, where digging with the shovel 
only is necessary, a man may throw up a cubic yard in an hour; 
in clay or gravel, where picking is necessary, it will require two 
men; in very strong gravel three men will be required to throw 
up the same quantity. 

Where wheeling off in barrows is necessary, three men will 
remove 30 cubic yards in a day to the distance of 20 yards— 
that is, two filling and one wheeling. 

When the stuff is to be carted away, a man with a horse and 
cart can, with the assistance of a man to fill, remove 12 loads 
per day to the distance of a mile. 

Twenty-three cubic feet of sand, 18 of common earth, and 17 
of clay, each make about a ton. 

Eighteen cubic feet of gravel or earth, before digging, make 
27 cubic feet when dug; or, the bulk is increased as three to two. 

BOARD MEASURE. 

The unit of board measure is a square foot one inch thick. 
The rule governs all lumber, of whatever thickness, and square 
and round timber. For example, a piece of siding 6 inches 
wide and 12 feet long would contain 6 feet, although but half 
an inch thick. A piece of board of the same dimensions an inch 
thick would also measure 6 feet. The siding would contain 
only half the amount of lumber that the inch board would con¬ 
tain, but its superficial measurement would be the same. What¬ 
ever difference there might be would be in the price, the siding 
being computed at so much less per M than the inch stuff. 

To find the amount of lumber in an inch board, take its length 
in feet, multiply by the width in inches, and divide by 12. If 
the board is wider at one end than the other, measure it in the 
centre, or measure both ends and take one-half. Then if the 


596 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


board is an inch and a quarter or an inch and a half thick, or 
any greater thickness, add so much to the amount of the meas¬ 
urement. 

To find the number of feet, board measure, in a square stick 
of timber, joist or scantling, multiply the length in inches by 
the thickness in inches, and then multiply the product by the 
length in feet, and divide by 12. 

The number of feet, board measure, which can be sawn from 
a given log, can be approximately determined from the follow¬ 
ing table, which is the standard commonly adopted for logs 10 
feet in length, and of diameters indicated (in inches), measured 
under the bark at the smaller end: 


Diam. 

Ft. 

Diam. 

Ft. 

Diam. 

Ft. 

Diam. 

Ft. 

Diam. 

Ft. 

10 

23 

18 

122 

26 

302 

34 

562 

42 

903 

11 

31 

19 

140 

27 

330 

35 

601 

43 

952 

12 

40 

20 

160 

28 

360 

36 

640 

44 

1000 

13 

50 

21 

180 

29 

391 

37 

681 

45 

1051 

14 

62 

22 

202 

30 

422 

38 

723 

46 

1103 

15 

75 

23 

225 

31 

456 

39 

765 

47 

1156 

16 

90 

24 

250 

32 

490 

40 

810 

48 

1210 

17 

105 

25 

275 

33 

526 

41 

850 




To find the contents in board measure of a log of any length, 
look for its diameter in the table, take the corresponding num¬ 
ber of feet, point off the last or right hand figure, and multiply 
the remaining figures by the length of the log in feet. 

MEASURING TIMBER IN THE TREE. 

The amount of timber in a tree, as well as its height, may be 
approximately determined by means of a simple instrument. 
Make a standard ofi any ordinary stick that may be stuck in the 
ground, say four or five feet in height; better, however, to affix 
it in a foot piece with which it will stand at right angles, so 
that, by leveling up, the upright or standard will be exactly 
perpendicular. Affix on or near the upper end of the standard, 
and at an angle of 45 degrees with it, any straight piece 
of wood (a bit of lath will do), a foot or two in length, 
which we will call the “ line of observation.” Place the instru¬ 
ment 50 feet or any other distance from the tree, and then move 
it from or towards the tree as the case may be, until the line of 
observation touches the highest point on the tree at which it 






MEASURES OP VARIOUS CAPACITY. 


597 


will be useful—being careful, of course, to see that the instru¬ 
ment stands exactly upright or perpendicular; then make a 
mark where the line of observation strikes the ground, and 
measure the distance from there to the tree. Allowance should 
be made for the stump, and for any unevenness in the surface 
of the ground. The extreme height of a tree may be ascer¬ 
tained in the same way, or the height of a house, or any other 
object. 

The following illustration will show the principle of the instru¬ 
ment: 



SHINGLES. 

Shingles are usually 16 inches long, and a bundle of shingles 
is 20 inches wide, and contains 24 courses in the thickness at 
each end; hence a bundle of shingles will lay 1 course 80 feet 
long. When shingles are exposed 4 inches to the weather, 1,000- 
will cover 107 square feet; 4-J inches 120 square feet; 5 inches* 
132 square feet; 6 inches 160 square feet. 












593 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


The following table exhibits the 
gles in exposed situations: 

Rifted Pine shingles. 

Sawed, clear from sap. 

“ “ with sap. 

Cedar. 

Spruce. 


average durability of shin- 


from 20 to 35 years. 

“ 16 “ 22 “ 

<< 4 “ 7 ** 

“ 12 “ 18 “ 

<< 7 “ ii «< 


By soaking shingles in lime water, their durability is consid¬ 
erably increased. 


TO MEASURE WOOD. 


Cord-wood is measured by the cord, which consists of a pile 
8 lineal feet long and 4 feet high; and as the wood is reckoned 
to be 4 feet in length, contains 128 cubic feet. A stick of cord- 
wood should measure 4 feet 4 inches from end to end, to com¬ 
pensate for the slope or bevel of the cut, and provide for an 
equivalent of 4 feet of solid wood. The contents of each lineal 
foot of the length of the pile is called a cord foot, and contains 
^ part of a cord, or 16 cubic feet. 

TABLE OF WOOD MEASUREMENT. 


Width. 

Height in Feet. 




Height in 

Inches. 




Feet. Inches. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

2 6 

20 

40 

60 

80 

2 

3 

5 

7 

8 

10 

12 

13 

15 

17 

18 

7 

21 

41 

62 

82 

2 

3 

5 

7 

8 

10 

12 

14 

15 

17 

18 

8 

21 

42 

64 

85 

2 

4 

5 

7 

9 

11 

13 

14 

16 

18 

20 

9 

22 

44 

66 

88 

2 

4 

6 

8 

9 

11 

13 

15 

17 

18 

20 

10 

23 

45 

68 

91 

2 

4 

6 

8 

10 

11 

13 

15 

17 

19 

21 

11 

23 

47 

70 

94 

2 

4 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

15 

17 

19 

21 

3 0 

24 

48 

72 

96 

2 

4 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

16 

18 

£0 

22 

1 

25 

49 

74 

99 

2 

4 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

17 

18 

20 

22 

2 

25 

51 

70 

101 

2 

4 

6 

8 

10 

13 

15 

17 

19 

21 

23 

3 

26 

52 

78 

104 

2 

4 

7 

9 

11 

13 

15 

17 

20 

22 

24 

4 

27 

53 

80 

107 

2 

5 

7 

9 

11 

14 

16 

18 

20 

23 

25 

6 

27 

55 

82 

109 

2 

5 

7 

9 

11 

14 

16 

18 

20 

23 

25 

6 

28 

56 

84 

112 

2 

5 

7 

9 

12 

14 

16 

18 

21 

23 

26 

7 

29 

57 

86 

115 

3 

5 

8 

10 

12 

15 

17 

19 

22 

24 

27 

8 

29 

59 

88 

117 

3 

5 

8 

10 

12 

15 

17 

19 

22 

24 

27 

9 

30 

60 

90 

120 

3 

5 

8 

10 

13 

15 

18 

20 

23 

26 

28 

10 

31 

61 

92 

123 

3 

5 

8 

10 

13 

16 

18 

21 

23 

26 

29 

11 

31 

63 

94 

125 

3 

5 

8 

10 

13 

16 

18 

21 

23 

26 

29 

4 0 

32 

64 

96 

128 

3 

5 

8 

11 

13 

16 

19 

21 

24 

27 

29 


Explanation.— Find the width of the load in the left hand column of the table; then 
move to the right on the same line till you come under the height in feet, and you have 
the contents in feet; then move to the right on the same line till you come to the height 
in inches, and you have the additional contents in feet for the height in inches. The 
sum of these two gives the true contents in feet. For loads 12 feet long, add one-half, 
and for 4 feet, subtract one-half. 

Example.— If a load of wood be 2 feet 10 inches wide, and 3 feet 7 inches high, what 
are the contents? Against 2 feet 10 inches, and under 3 feet, stands 68; and under 7 
inches at the top, stands 13; then 13 plus 68 equals 81, the true contents in feet. 










































































MEASURES OF VARIOUS CAPACITY. 


599 


WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 

TROY WEIGHT. 

(Used for weighing gold, silver and jewels.) 

24 grains make 1 pennyweight. 

20 pennyweights make 1 ounce. 

12 ounces make 1 pound. 

apothecaries’ weight. 

(See page 38.) 

AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT. 

(Used for all articles but gold, silver and jewels.) 

16 drachms make 1 ounce. 

16 ounces make 1 pound. 

25 pounds make 1 quarter. 

4 quarters make 1 hundred weight. 

20 hundred weight make 1 ton. 

MISCELLANEOUS WEIGHTS. 

196 lbs. make.1 barrel of flour. 

200 lbs. make.1 barrel of beef, pork or fish. 

280 lbs. make.1 barrel of salt. 

32 lbs. make.1 bushel of oats. 

48 lbs. make.1 bushel of barley. 

56 lbs. make.1 bushel of corn, rye or flaxseed. 

14 lbs. make.1 bushel of blue grass seed. 

46 lbs. make.1 bushel of castor beans. 

44 lbs. make...1 bushel of hemp seed. 

60 lbs. make.1 bushel of wheat, beans, clover seed, peas, 

or potatoes. 

45 lbs. make.1 bushel of timothy seed. 

57 lbs. make.1 bush^lof onions. 

28 lbs. make.1 bushel of dried apples or dri?& peaches. 

50 lbs. make.1 bushel of salt. 

Note. —The weights and measures as given foregoing are not uniform 
all the States. 

LONG MEASURE. 

(Used for distances and length of articles.) 

12 inches make 1 foot. 

3 feet make 1 yard. 

5 £ yards make 1 rod. 

40 rods make 1 furlong. 

8 furlongs make 1 mile. 
















600 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


SURFACE MEASURE. 
(Used in estimating surfaces.) 


144 square inches 

make 

1 square foot. 

9 square feet 

make 

1 square yard. 

30£ square yards 

make 

1 square rod or perch, 

160 sq. rods or perches make 

1 acre. 

640 acres 

make 

SOLID MEASURE. 

1 square mile. 

(Used in measuring bodies.) 

1728 cubic inches 

make 

1 cubic foot. 

27 cubic feet 

make 

1 cubic yard. 

128 cubic feet 

make 

1 cord. 

MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES. 

12 units 

make 

1 dozen. 

12 dozen 

make 

1 gross. 

20 units 

make 

1 score. 

5 scores 

make 

PAPER. 

1 hundred. 

24 sheets 

make 

1 quire. 

20 quires 

make 

1 ream. 

2 reams 

make 

1 bundle. 

5 bundles 

make 

LIQUID MEASURE. 

1 bale. 

Gal. Quarts. 

Pints. Gills. 

Cubic Inches. 

1 - 4 - 

8 = 32 

331 

1 

2=8 

57.75 


1=4 

28.875 


1 

7.2175 

A Barrel contains 


3l£ gallons. 

A Tierce “ 


42 

A Puncheon “ 

2 tierces, or 

84 

A Hogshead “ 

2 barrels, or 

63 

A Pipe “ 

2 hogsheads, or 

126 “ 

A Tun 

2 pipes, or 

252 



GRAIN 

measure —(Struck Measure.) 

Capacity in 

Quarter. 

Bushels. 

Pecks. Gallons. Pints. 

Cubic Inches. 

1 = 

8 

32 - 64 — 512 

= 17,745.536 


1 

4 - 8 - 64 

= 2,218.192 



1 - 2 - 16 

554.548 


1 - 8 - 277.274 

1 = 34.650 


MEASURES OF VARIOUS CAPACITY. 


601 


CAPACITY OF BOXES. 

The following will be found exceedingly useful at times. 
These are inside dimensions: 

A box 8-f inches by 8 inches, and 8 inches deep, contains a 
peck. 

A box 8 inches square, and Aj inches deep, contains a gallon. 

A box 7 inches square, and 2f inches deep, contains a half 
gallon. 

A box 4 inches square, and inches deep, contains a quart. 

A box 3 inches square, and 3§ inches deep, contains a pint. 

A box 24 inches by 17 inches, and 28 inches deep, contains a 
barrel. 

A box 18 inches by 15£ inches, and 8 inches deep, contains a 
bushel. 

A box 13£ inches square, and 11J inches deep, contains a, 
bushel. 

A box 12 inches by ll£ inches, and 9 inches deep, contains a; 
half bushel. 

A box 10 inches square, and lOf inches deep, contains a half' 
bushel. 

A box 24 inches long, 16 inches deep, 28 inches wide, contains? 
5 bushels. 

A box 4 feet 7 inches long, 2 feet 4 inches wide, 2 feet 4 inches 
deep, contains 20 bushels. 

A cylinder 18£ inches inside diameter, 8 inches deep, contains 
1 U. S. standard bushel. 


THE WORLD AND RACES OF MANKIND. 

The total population of the earth is not known with accuracy, 
but it is supposed to be something over 1,400,000,000. The fol¬ 
lowing table shows approximately the area of the principal divi¬ 
sions of the earth, with their population, and density: 

Europe.area, 3,800,000 sq. miles, pop. 321,600,000 about 84 to sq. m.. 

Asia. " 15,000,000 “ “ “ 798,200,000 “ 53 to “ “ 

Africa. " 10,800,000 “ “ “ 208,300,000 “ 20 to “ “ 

America... “ 14,700,000 “ “ “ 104,000,000 “ 7 to “ “ 

Oceanica... “. 1,500,000 “ “ “ 4,900,000 “ 3 to “ “ 

38 




602 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE, 


POPULATION BY RACES. 

"Whites.about 400,000,000 Copper-colored. ...about 37,000,000 

Blacks. “ 400,000,000 Mongolians. “ 600,000,000 


ESTIMATED AREA OF OCEANS AND SEAS. 


Sq. Miles. 


Pacific Ocean. 78,000,000 

Atlantic Ocean. 25,000,000 

Indian Ocean. 14,000,000 

Southern Ocean to 30°. 25,000,000 

Northern Ocean. 5,000,000 

Mediterranean Sea. 2,000,000 


Sq. Miles. 


Black Sea. 170,000 

Baltic Sea. 175,000 

North Sea. 160,000 

Caspian Sea. 176,000 

Sea of Aral. 30,000 


THE GREAT AMERICAN LAKES. 


Lake Superior. 

Size, 

Sq. Miles. 
. 32,000 

Depth, 

Ft. 

1,000 

Lake Ontario. 

Size, 

Sq. Miles. 
.... 6,300 

Lake Michigan.... 

. 22,400 

1,000 

Lake Nicaraugua.. 

.... 6,000 

Lake Huron. 


1,000 

Salt Lake. 


Lake Erie. 

.10,815 

204 



Depth, 

336 

300 

1,400 


LENGTH OF THE PRINCIPAL AMERICAN RIVERS. 


Miles. 


Missouri, to the Mississippi.3,100 

Missouri, to the Gulf. 4,350 

Mississippi. 3,200 

Amazon.3,200 

Arkansas. 2,500 

Red River. 2,500 

Mackenzie. 2,500 


La Plata. 

St. Lawrence . 
Rio Grande... 

Orinoco. 

Columbia, .w. 

Ohio. 

Colorado. 


Miles. 

. 2,240 
. 1,900 
. 1,780 
. 1,700 
. 1,090 
. 1,000 
. 1,000 


MILES OF VARIOUS NATIONS IN YARDS. 


Yards. 

English and American. 1,760 

Scotch.1,984 

Irish .2,240 

German . 8,106 

Dutch and Prussian.5,480 

Italian. 1,766 

Vienna post mile. 8,296 

Swiss. 9,153 


Yards. 

Swedish and Danish.7,341 

Arabian. 2,143 

Roman. 1,628, or 2,025 

Werst.1,167, or 1,337 

Tuscan. 1,808 

Turkish.1,826 

Flemish. 6,869 


HUMAN AND ANIMAL LIFE AND MORTALITY. 

The average rate of deaths to births with the human race is 
supposed to be as ten to twelve. The births and deaths the 
world over, therefore, computing the average life of persons at 
33 years, would be at a rate about as follows, assuming the 
total population of the earth to be 1,000,000,000: 


Death rate. Birth rate. 

Each year. 30,000,000 36,000,000 

Each day. 82,191 98,657 

Each hour. 3,424 4,110 

Each minute. 57 68 

Each second. 1 nearly. If 


The total population of the globe is supposed to be consider¬ 
ably more than that above stated, being computed by some at 






























































603 


THE WOULD AND RACES OP MANKIND. 

1,300,000,000 or more, but the table will give an approximate 
idea of the number of persons continually passing on and off 
the stage of existence. 


THE CARLISLE TABLES OP MORTALITY. 


According to the Carlisle tables of mortality, based upon very 
extensive observation, and largely used as authority in life 
insurance calculations in America and Europe, of 10,000 children 
born— 


3,540 die in 10 years. 

3,910 “ “ 20 “ 

4.358 “ “ 30 “ 

4,915 “ “ 40 “ 


5,603 die in 50 years. 

6,357 “ “ 60 “ 

7,599 “ “ 70 “ 

9,047 “ « 80 “ 


9,848 die in 90 years. 
9,991 “ “ 100 “ 

9,999 “ “ 104 “ 


Leaving only one of the 10,000 living at the age of 104 
years. 


DEATH-RATE IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The death-rate in the United States varies much from the 
European. Taking various sections of the country the death- 
rate is as follows: 


New England States. 1 in 68 

Middle States.1 “ 88 

Southern States.1 “ 70 

Western States.1 “ 81 

Northwestern States. 1 “120 


Pacific States. l in 115 

Atlantic States. 1 “ 80 

Gulf States. .. .l “ 63 

Mississippi Valley States.1 “ 80 


DEATH-RATE IN EUROPE. 


England. 1 in 46 

Denmark.1 “ 45 

Belgium.1 “ 43 

Norway and Sweden. 1 “ 41 


Austria. 1 in 40 

Prussia. \ “ 39 

France. 1 “ 32 


LONGEVITY IN THE OCCUPATIONS. 


From recent statistics the average duration of life in various 
businesses and professions has been compiled, the figures show¬ 
ing the average number of years to which men in the various 


occupations attain: 


Men unemployed. 68 

Judges. 65 

Farmers.64 

Bank Officers. 64 

Coopers. 58 

Public Officers. 57 

Shipwrights.55 

Hatters.54 

Lawyers.— 54 

Rope Makers.54 

Blacksmiths. 51 


Merchants —.51 

Calico Printers.61 

Physicians.51 

Butchers.50 

Carpenters.49 

Masons. 48 

Traders.46 

Tailors.44 

Jewelers. 44 

Manufacturers.43 

Bakers.43 


Painters. 43 

Shoemakers.43 

Mechanics. 43 

Editors.40 

Musicians.39 

Printers.38 

Machinists. 36 

Teachers. 34 

Clerks. 34 

Operators. 32 

























































604 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

MIXTURE OF THE RACES. 

The following table is accepted by the best authorities as- 
exhibiting the proportion of white and black blood in the admix¬ 
ture of the two races, and the designations by which the various 
admixtures are known: 


PARENTS. 

OFFSPRING. 

DEGREE OF MIXTURE. 

White and Negro. 


4 White i Black, 

White and Mulatto. 


. t 

it £ a 

Negro and Mulatto .... 

j Griffo, Griff or Zambo, 1 
* * ( or Black Terceron j 

: i 

“ f 

White and Terceron..., 


• 1 

“ 4 “ 

Negro and Terceron.... 

( Black Quarteron or ) 

’ * * ( Quadroon ) 

4 

“ 4 > 

White and Quarteron.. 


■ if 

“ ^ *- 

Negro and Black 

Quinteron .. 


■ A 

“ 44 “ 

GROWTH AND LIFE OF ANIMALS, 




Man.grows for 20 years, and lives 90 to 100 years.. 

Camel. “ “ 8 “ “ “ 40 to 100 “ 

Horse. “ “ 5 " “ “ 25 to 30 “ 

Ox. “ “ 4 " •« “ 15 to 20 “ 

Lion. “ “ 4 “ “ " 20 to 50 

Dog. “ “ 2 " " “ 12 to 14 “ 

Cat. “ “ 1* “ “ “ 9 to 10 “ 

Hare. “ “ 1 " “ “ 8 “ 

Guinea pig. “ “ 7 months and lives 6 or 7 “ 

Elephants will live, under favorable circumstances.about 100 years; 

Rhinoceros. “ 20 “ 

Tigers, Leopards, Jaguars and Hyenas (in confinement).. “ 25 “ 

Beaver. . “ 50 “ 

Deer. . “ 20 “ 

Wolf. “ 20 “ 

Fox. 14 to 16 “ 

Llamas. 15 

Chamois. 25 “ 

Monkeys and Baboons. 16 to 18 

Squirrel. 7 ** 

Rabbit. *. 7 “ 

Swine.. 25 “ 

Stag. under 50 “* 

Ass .... ... 30 “ 

Sheep. under 10 “ 

Cow. 20 “ 

Swans, Parrots and Ravens. 200 “ 

Eagle... 100 “ 

Geese. 80 “ 

Hens and Pigeons. 10 to 16 “ 

Hawks. 30 “ 40 “ 

Crane. 24 “ 














































THE DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD. 


605 


THE DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD. 

This topic is one which, from its importance, and from the 
nature of the case, is appropriately treated of in a separate 
chapter. 


BURYING ALIVE. 

Especially in view of the fact, proven by occasional investiga¬ 
tion, that persons are frequently buried alive, let us first give a’ 
few words of caution on this head. On pages 172 and 173 will 
be found a few remarks on this subject, more particularly enu¬ 
merating the generally accepted evidences that death has taken 
place. But it is not safe always, or perhaps generally, to rely 
upon these evidences. An intelligent physician, writing on the 
subject, holds that under no circumstances whatever should a 
body be buried until decomposition has visibly and unmistaka¬ 
bly commenced, that being the only positive proof that death 
has taken place. There are numerous and frequently recurring 
conditions to which we are all liable, in which a body may easily 
be buried alive, unless this precaution is observed. The prin¬ 
cipal of these are: 

1. The state of collapse occurring at the crisis of some long 
continued and prostrating illness. 

2. A temporary paralysis of the functions occurring in 
severe diseases, as apoplexy, sunstroke, diphtheria, scarlatina, etc. 

3. A state of coma occasioned by the use of morphine. 

4. Paralysis by reason of some shock affecting the mental or 
emotional attributes, through the medium of the brain, the spi¬ 
nal cord and the nervous structure, which are so intimately con¬ 
nected with each other. 

5. The state of trance, which so frequently assumes the sem¬ 
blance of real death. 

6. Apparent death from epidemic diseases, in which excite¬ 
ment, panic, the unreasoning spell that seizes upon communities 
of people acted upon by a common dread, and the fear of run- 


606 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


ning the hazard of infection by allowing the supposed dead to 
remain unburied for a time, all combine to hurry the subject 
away. 

While it is a startling thought, the opinion is held by not a 
few that thousands of persons are annually buried alive by rea¬ 
son of some one or other of the foregoing causes, or others not 
enumerated. The fact that an occasional examination of a 
grave discloses the terrible truth, ought to lead to every precau¬ 
tion. 

The instances are not few in cases of trance, where the sub¬ 
ject, although under entire suspension of animation, has lain in 
a state of consciousness and fully aware of the preparations 
being made for burial, but unable to give any sign of life, until 
the terror of the situation forced a perspiration that secured 
respite from a living tomb, and eventual restoration to life and 
health. 

A body should not be placed on ice until the evidence of 
death is complete, because should a spark of life remain it 
would be paralyzed by the cold only to be destroyed by it, or to- 
be reawakened in a living tomb. 

THE BIER. 

Dissolution having fully taken place, comes the necessity for 
disposing of the remains of friends. People are not wholly of 
one mind as to the best method of final sepulture. Cremation,, 
or burning, has attracted a good deal of attention of late, and 
there are one or two “crematories,” as they are called, in 
the country. But this method is far from being a peculiarly 
modern idea. It was practiced among some of the ancients, 
who burned the bodies of their dead and carefully gathered and 
preserved their ashes in urns designed for the purpose, whence 
is derived the word “ urn,” as descriptive of the tomb. When 
Caesar was assassinated by the jealous Roman nobles, his body 
was burned in the Forum amidst many manifestations of affec¬ 
tion by the people, and his ashes were preserved and deposited 
in the family tomb. In ancient Egypt it was the custom to 
embalm the bodies, wrapping them in many folds of linen. 
These are now known as “Egyptian mummies,” specimens of 
which may be found in the archaeological collections of Europe 


THE DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD. 


607 


and this country. In India, cremation is practiced, and a horrid 
religious superstition requires a living widow to immolate her¬ 
self on the funeral pyre of her dead husband. In Calcutta, it is 
a custom to place the dead on the top of what are called the 
“ silent towers ” outside the city, where they undergo natural 
decay, or are torn by the vultures, customs differing according 
to the predilections of sects. In Naples vaults are sunk perpen¬ 
dicularly into the rock, one vault for each day in the year, and 
the dead of each day are lifted, uncoffined, and without distinc¬ 
tion or separation, into the vault that is opened for the day and 
closed for the year. In some of the cities of continental Europe, 
especially in the German states, the dead are placed in subterra¬ 
nean vaults, and as the bones become fleshless they are gathered 
and bestowed in heaps. The Paris dead are deposited in the 
catacombs, which are immense excavations under the city, the 
remains of ancient stone quarries. Some of our American 
Indians place their dead in a bier and swing them upon the 
limbs of trees or from poles set in the ground, while others bury 
them in a sitting posture, placing by them the weapons of the 
chase for use in the “ happy hunting grounds.” 

The prevailing sentiment of our American society insists upon 
burial in the earth as the only proper method of laying our 
deceased friends away to their final rest; and the same senti¬ 
ment prescribes a given order and solemnity in doing so, and 
that the places of their rest shall be marked not only with tab¬ 
lets and monuments by which they may be identified, but 
adorned with testimonials of tender remembrance and a love 
and affection that has survived their dissolution. 

THE ETIQUETTE OF FUNERALS. 

It is usual in towns, when a death occurs in a family, to indi¬ 
cate the event by a mourning badge attached to the door knob 
or door bell, from which the tender sentiment found expression— 

“ Ring the bell softly—there’s crape on the door.’* 

These mourning badges have a symbolical language, black 
indicating that the deceased is a married person or one who has 
been married, black with white an unmarried person of say 


608 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

twenty years or more, and pure white a younger person, although 
sometimes young ladies before death express a preference for 
the all white. 

A death in a family is presumed to be known to the more inti¬ 
mate friends immediately upon its occurrence, when they are 
expected to call and tender their sympathy and assistance in 
preparing for the burial. The more immediate friends usually 
accompany the family from their home to the place where the 
funeral service is held, and to the place of burial, and return 
with them to the home, from whence they take their leave. The 
badge is removed from the door when the family and friends 
leave the house with the body, that it may not be there to 
awaken painful reflections on their return. 

Pall bearers are usually selected from the walks in life in 
which the deceased person has moved, and of the same approxi¬ 
mate age. If it be an elderly married person, elderly men with 
whom social or commercial relations have existed, are chosen; 
if younger married people, married men of similar age and con¬ 
dition, and so in the case of youths and young unmarried peo¬ 
ple. In the case of young children no especial formality is 
observed in this respect. In some cases of the death of old 
people, where there are a sufficient number of grown sons or near 
relatives, it is regarded as an evidence of profound respect for 
them to fill the office of pall bearers. 

The burial attire may be of any pattern or design, from a simple 
sheet or wrapper to the costly and elaborately wrought shroud; 
or it may be the ordinary or favorite dress of the deceased per¬ 
son. And there is the same latitude of choice of box, coffin or 
casket. 

THE UNDERTAKER. 

When an undertaker is called, he should respond at once, be 
it night or day. He should ask the messenger the age of the 
deceased, so that he may take with him a board proportioned to 
the size of the person, and taking with him also his assistant (if it 
be a grown person so as to require an assistant), and apparatus for 
washing and shaving if necessary. The undertaker works 
mechanically, only, and while his deportment must always be 
respectful, and with so much of feeling in it as to show his 
respect for the feelings of the family also, it should never go so far 



Masonic and Other Funeral Rites. 




















































































































































































































THE DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD. 


609 


in any manifestation of sympathy as to leave him open to a suspi¬ 
cion of hyprocrisy. He may make free with the house (except of 
•course the private apartments), to provide himself with what he 
requires, and should generally call upon the servants for what he 
may want, rather than upon members of the family. For laying 
a body out, sheets, pins, water, towels, clothes for temporary 
•dressing, etc., are required. The body should be washed, 
shaved, finger nails cleaned, and hair combed and brushed. If 
it be a female, there should be a female attendant to do so much 
•of this labor as is proper. A sheet should be drawn over the 
board, the body placed upon it and covered with another sheet, 
and disposed in the coolest place in the room, say near the win¬ 
dows. The hands are usually crossed over the breast, and secured 
by a cloth string. The eyes and mouth should be closed, tying 
a handkerchief under the chin, if necessary. A black cloth 
placed over the face, by excluding the light, delays decomposi¬ 
tion and preserves the natural color. To the same end the body 
should remain uncoffined as long as practicable. 

These details attended to, the undertaker will inquire when and 
where the funeral will be, where the grave, who the minister, 
^tc., and other details as to carriages, pall bearers, mourning 
badges, style and kind of coffin. Promptness in everything is 
-essential, and to prevent misunderstandings, the undertaker 
should call at the house on the morning of the funeral to see if 
everything is as has been ordered, and if any further arrange¬ 
ments are necessary. The undertaker is in fact the general-in¬ 
chief on funeral occasions, and any lapses will be charged to 
him. Usually the undertaker is expected to employ the car¬ 
riages and to send one of them to fetch the minister or other 
person officiating. 

When a funeral service is concluded, either at the residence or 
•elsewhere, after a moment or two of pause the pall bearers will 
be beckoned to their places by the undertaker, and preceded by 
•him and the minister, will bear the body to the hearse, and the 
undertaker then returns to the house to escort the mourners to 
the carriages. The order of funeral processions is well under¬ 
stood, and any trotting of horses on going to a burial is inter¬ 
dicted, although it would seem that this rule might be relaxed 
where the distance to be traveled is considerable. The same 
rule does not govern in returning from the burial. 


610 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


There are many cases of funerals in the country and remote 
districts, in which an undertaker cannot be summoned, and in 
which some neighbor is of necessity called to act. In such cases 
the directions foregoing will be a guide. 

MILITARY FUNERALS. 

In military funerals the order of procession is dictated by the 
officer in command, usually with the military escort first, then 
hearse, minister, pall bearers, family, friends and general public,, 
in the order named. 

MASONIC FUNERALS. 

In Masonic funerals the general order is the same as above,, 
with the lodge in advance. For the purposes of a Masonic 
funeral the lodge is opened in due form in the lodge-room, and 
the procession formed in the following order: 

1. Tiler, with drawn sword; 2. Musicians (if not Masons); 3. Stew¬ 
ards, with white rods; 4. Musicians (if they are Masons); 5. Master 
Masons; 6. Senior and .Junior Deacons; 7. Secretary and Treasurer; 8. 
Senior and Junior Wardens; 9. Past Masters; 10. The Holy Writings, on 
a cushion covered with black cloth, carried by the oldest member of the- 
lodge; 11. The Master; 12. The Clergy. 

The pall bearers are chosen from the fraternity, and attend at 
the dwelling before the Masonic procession arrives. Besides the 
usual lodge regalia, the members wear white gloves, a badge of 
black crape on the left arm, and a sprig of evergreen on the left 
lappel of the coat. The emblematic white apron is placed on 
the coffin. On arriving at the place of burial, instead of open 
ranks, as in military order, the lodge files on either side of the 
grave, forming a circle, into which only the mourners, minister, 
undertaker, etc., are admitted, the Master taking his place at the 
head of the grave, and the Senior and Junior Wardens at the 
foot and south side respectively, the friends of the deceased 
standing behind the Senior Warden, the Sacred Writings being 
held on the right of the Master. The Master then repeats the 
ritual, after which the coffin is lowered into the grave, the apron 
having been previously taken from it and handed to the Master, 
who raises it in his hand and says: 

This lamb-skin or white apron, which is the emblem of innocence and 
the badge of a Mason, I now deposit in the grave of our deceased brother; 
by it we are reminded of the universal dominion of death. 


THE DISPOSAL OP THE DEAD. 


611 


The Master, holding a sprig of evergreen in his hand, says: 

But this evergreen, which once marked the resting place of the illus¬ 
trious dead, is an emblem of our faith in the immortality of the soul. By 
this we are reminded that we have an immortal part within us that shall 
survive the grave, and which shall never, never, die. This, too (the ever¬ 
green), I deposit in the grave. 

The brethren then unite in singing the burial hymn, and while 
doing so, march in single file round the grave, and as each 
passes the head of the grave he removes the evergreen from his 
breast and deposits it therein. 

The Master and Wardens having resumed their places, each 
takes up a handful of earth, and dropping it in turn into the 
grave, each repeats as he does so the following: 

The W. M. says: “Earth to earth.” 

The S. W. says: “Ashes to ashes.” 

The J. W. says: “Dust to dust.” 

The Funeral Grand Honors are then given, involving three 
motions with words accompanying, as follows: 

The Master says: “We deposit the body of our deceased 
brother in the grave;” 

[The brethren simultaneously raise both hands to a level with the elbow 
and extend them slightly in front of the body, open palms downward.] 

The Master : “We treasure his memory in our hearts; ” 

[The brethren raise their hands and cross them over the breast, palms 
inward, the right hand on top.] 

The Master: “We commend his spirit to God, who gave it! ” 

[The brethren extend their hands, palms to the front, throwing the elbows 
slightly back, and raising them so as to form an angle of about forty-five 
degrees, and then letting the arms fall naturally by the side as the sentence 
is completed. The movement should be simultaneous with the words 
spoken in each case, and the three clauses should be repeated with but 
slight pauses, as a single sentence.] 

The Master then repeats the remaining portion of the ritual, 
and concludes: 

And may Almighty God in His infinite goodness extend His mercy 
towards him and all of us. Amen. 

The Brethren respond, “ So mote it be.” 

This concludes the service. 


>612 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


LAY FUNERALS. 

Not infrequently, deaths occur in families remote from any 
town or village, where the customary ceremonies cannot be 
had, and in the case of young infants many of the formali¬ 
ties of a funeral are often dispensed with. In such cases some 
neighbor of intelligence is usually called upon to officiate. If 
the deceased person be an adult, the friend officiating might 
very properly introduce the service by saying: “We have met 
for the purpose of performing the rite of final sepulture upon the 
body*of the friend which lies here before us.” Or any other appro¬ 
priate introduction. A layman would hardly enter upon any 
discussion of religious or theological subjects on such an occa¬ 
sion, although he might with propriety read from the bible or 
from the burial service of the church to which the deceased 
belonged, if a devotee. Reference may be made to the position 
and worth of the decedent, and expressions of sympathy and 
-condolence of friends and neighbors for the bereaved family 
should be briefly given. At the grave, all verbal ceremony may 
be omitted until the coffin has been lowered, when the sexton, 
dropping a few crumbs of earth upon it, pauses, and the person 
officiating may then repeat the usual formula, “ Earth to earth— 
ashes to ashes—dust to dust;” and may add: “Friends and 
neighbors—in behalf of the bereaved family, we tender to you 
their thanks for your sympathy and kindness in thus disposing of 
their dead; and as ye came, so depart ye in peace.” In the case 
of very young infants, any preliminary service at the residence 
is frequently omitted, the few words at the grave being the only 
ceremony. 

There are many cases (and the number is perhaps on the 
increase), in which persons live and die without any religious 
belief, and though custom in some such cases calls upon a minister 
to officiate, in many cases it is contrary not only to the expressed 
wish of the person while living, but to the wishes of friends also, 
and there is a manifest impropriety in subjecting a person when 
dead to rites that he would reject if living. In such cases the 
suggestions foregoing may be of service. Some singing of 
hymns (when the professions of the family would suggest that 












» 


/ 






















/ 




♦ 












Mining, Smelting and Lumbering. 





































ODDS AND ENDS. 


613 - 


exercise), or of some song of sympathy in other cases, would 
usually be desirable when there were those present competent 
for the service. 

A NEW METHOD OF EMBALMING. 

Mix together 5 pounds dry sulphate of alumine, 1 quart of 
warm water, and 100 grains of arsenious acid. Inject 3 or 4 
quarts of this mixture into all the vessels of the human body. 
This applies as well to all animals, birds, fishes, etc. This pro¬ 
cess supersedes the old and revolting mode, and has been intro¬ 
duced into the great anatomical schools of Paris. 


ODDS AND ENDS. 


The remaining pages of this work cannot be more profitably 
filled than by a collection of miscellaneous facts and informa¬ 
tion that could not be well embodied in any specific classifica¬ 
tion. 

SCIENTIFIC FACTS. 


EFFECTS OF HEAT AND COLD. 


Fine Gold melts. 2590° 

Fine Silver melts. 1250 

Copper melts. 2548 

Wrought Iron melts. 3980 

Cast iron melts. 3479 

Bright red iron in the dark. 752 

Red hot iron in twilight. 884 

Glass melts . ... 2377 

Common fire. 790 

Brass melts... 1900 

Air furnace. 3300 

Antimony melts. 951 

Bismuth melts. 476 

Cadmium. 600 

Steel. 2500 

Lead. 504 

Tin. 421 

Heat, cherry red. 1500 


Heat, bright red. 1860* 

“ red visible by day..1077 

“ white . 2900 

Mercury boils. 662 

Mercury volatilizes. 680 

Platinum melts. 3080 

Zinc melts. 740 

Highest natural temperature 

(Egypt). 117 

Greatest natural cold (below zero)... 56 

Greatest artificial cold (below 

zero). 106 

Heat of human blood. 98 

Snow and Salt, equal parts. 0 

Ice melts . 32 

Water in vacuo boils. 98 

Furnace under steam boiler. 1100 


HOW SOUND TRAVELS. 


In dry air at 82° sound travels 1,142 feet per second, or about 
750 miles per hour; in water, 4,900 feet per second; in iron, 
17,500 feet; in copper, 10,378 feet; and in wood, from 12,000 to 
16,000 feet per second. In water, a bell heard at 45,000 feet 
could be heard in the air out of the water but 656 feet. In a 
balloon the barking of dogs can be heard on the ground at an 
elevation of 4 miles. Divers, 100 feet under water, at Hell 




































-614 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


Gate, near New York, heard the paddle wheels of distant steam¬ 
ers hours before they hove in sight. The report of a rifle, on a 
still day, may be heard at 5,300 yards; a military band at 5,200 
yards. The fire of the English on landing in Egypt was dis¬ 
tinctly heard 130 miles. 


Bodies. 

A man walks. 

A horse trots. 

A horse runs.. 

Steamboats move. 

Sailing vessels move... 

Slow rivers flow.. 

Rapid rivers flow. 

A moderate wind blows 

A storm moves. 

A hurricane moves. 

A rifle ball moves. 

Sound moves. 

Light moves. 

Electricity moves. 


VELOCITIES OF BODIES. 


Per Hour. 


Per Second. 


3 miles, 

or 

4 feet. 

^ 44 

or 

10 “ 

20 “ 

or 

29 “ 

18 “ 

or 

26 “ 

10 “ 

or 

14 “ 

3 “ 

or 

4 “ 

7 “ 

or 

10 “ 

7 “ 

or 

10 “ 

36 “ 

or 

52 “ 

80 “ 

or 

117 “ 

1000 “ 

or 

1466 “ 

743 “ 

or 

1142 “ 


miles 

per second. 


44 

44 44 


TABLE SHOWING WHAT WEIGHTS HEMP ROPE WILL BEAR WITH SAFETY. 


Circumference. 

Pounds. 

Circumference. 

Pounds. 

1 

inch. 

200 

3 inch. 

1800 

1H 

44 

312.5 

3U “ 

2112.5 


44 

450 

3U “ 

2150 

1 9i 

44 

612.5 

3M “ 

2812.5 

2 

44 

800 

4 

3200 

2W 

44 

1012.5 

5 

5000 


44 

1250 

6 

7200 

m 

44 

1512.5 




Note.— A square inch of hemp fibre will support a weight of 9,200 pounds. The 
maximum strength of a good hemp rope is 6,400 pounds to the square inch. Its prac¬ 
tical value not more than one-half this strain. Before breaking, it stretches from one- 
fifth to one-seventh, and its diameter diminishes one-fourth to one-seventh. The 
strength of manilla is about one-half that of hemp. White ropes are one-third more 
durable. 


STRENGTH OF ICE. 

Ice 2 inches thick will bear men on foot. 

Ice 4 inches thick will bear men on horseback. 

Ice 6 inches thick will bear cattle and teams with light loads. 

Ice 8 inches thick will bear teams with heavy loads. 

Ice 10 inches thick will sustain a pressure of 1,000 pounds per square 
foot. 

This supposes the ice to be sound through its whole thickness, without 
“snow ice.” 


WIND AND WEATHER. 

VELOCITY AND FORCE OF WIND. 

The force exerted by windmills will vary greatly with the 
velocity of the wind. The following table shows the pressure 

































ODDS AND ENDS. 


615 

against a fixed surface; from the velocity given in this table, 
the average velocity of the sails must be deducted, and the 
remainder will show the real force exerted: 


Velocity. 

Miles an hour. 

Pressure 
in lbs. on 
square foot. 

1. 

.005 

.020 

.045 

.089 

2. 

3 . 

4. 

5. 

.125 

.180 

.320 

.500 

1.125 
2.000 

3.125 
4.500 

6.125 
8.000 

10.125 

12.500 

18.000 

32.000 

50.000 

6. 

7 . 

10. 

15. 

20. 

25. . 

30.. 

35. 

40. 

45.. 

50. 

60. 

80. 

100. 


Description. 


Hardly perceptible, 
j- Just perceptible, 
j- Light breeze, 
j- Gentle, pleasant wind, 
j- Pleasant, brisk wind, 
j- Very brisk, 
j- Strong, high wind, 
j- Very high. 

Storm or tempest. 

Great storm. 

Hurricane. 

Tornado, tearing up trees and 
sweeping off buildings. 


RULES FOR JUDGING OF THE WEATHER. 

1. After a continuance of dry weather, if the barometer begins 
to fall slowly and steadily, rain will certainly ensue; but if the 
fine weather has been of long duration, the mercury may fall for 
2 or 3 days before any perceptible change takes place, and the 
longer time that elapses before rain comes, the longer the wet 
weather is likely to last. 

2. Conversely, if, after a great deal of wet weather, with the 
barometer below its mean height, the mercury begins to rise 
steadily and slowly, fine weather will come, though 2 or 3 wet 
days may first elapse; and the fine weather will be the more per¬ 
manent in proportion to the length of time that passes before 
the perceptible change takes place. 

3. On either of the two foregoing suppositions, if the change 
immediately ensues on the motion of the mercury, it will not 
be permanent. 

4. If the barometer rises slowly and steadily for two days 
together, or more, fine weather will come, though for those two 
days it may rain incessantly, and the reverse; but if the barom¬ 
eter rises for two days or more during rain, and then, on the 
appearance of fine weather, begins to fall again, the fine weather 
will be very transient, and vice versa. 

































616 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


5. A sudden fall of the barometer in spring or autumn indi¬ 
cates wind; in summer, during very hot weather, a thunder¬ 
storm may be expected; in winter, a sudden fall after frost of 
some continuance, indicates a change of wind with thaw and 
rain; but in a continued frost a rise of the mercury indicates 
approaching snow. 

6. No rapid fluctuations of the barometer are to be inter¬ 
preted as indicating either dry or wet weather of any continu¬ 
ance; it is only the slow, steady and continued rise or fall, that 
is to be attended to in this respect. 

7. A rise in the mercury late in the autumn, after a long 
continuance of wet and windy weather, generally indicates a 
change of wind to the northern quarters, and the approach of 
frost. 


FACTS ABOUT METALS. 


Before some metals are rendered fluid by heat, they become 
pasty; such is an indication of malleability. The following 
table gives the degrees (Fahr.) of heat at which metals fuse: 


Tin. 442' 

Bismuth. 497' 

Lead. 612' 

Zinc. 773' 

Antimony. 810' 

Silver.1,873' 


Copper....1,996° 

Gold.2,016° 

Iron (Cast).2,786° 

Nickel (about).2,800° 

Manganese (about).3,000° 


To Scour Metals. —Cast iron, zinc and brass surfaces can 
be scoured with great economy of labor, time and material by 
using either glycerine, stearine, napthaline, or creosote, mixed 
with dilute sulphuric acid. Kerosene is good to remove rust. 
By immersing the article in kerosene oil for a few days the rust 
will become so much loosened that it may easily be rubbed off. 

Protection Against Rust. —Take 10 pounds gutta percha, 
20 pounds mutton suet, 30 pounds beef suet, 2 gallons neats’’ 
foot oil, and 1 gallon rape oil. Melt together until thoroughly 
dissolved and mixed, and color with a small portion of rose pink; 
oil of thyme or other perfuming matter may be added. When 
cold the composition is to be rubbed on the surface of bright 
steel, iron, brass, or other metal requiring protection from rust. 
Paraffine, warmed and rubbed on polished metals, and then 
wiped off with a woolen rag, is effective. 














ODDS AND ENDS. 


617 


To Clean and Polish Jewelry. —Take aqua ammonia, 1 
oz.; prepared chalk, £ oz.; mix, and keep corked. To use for 
rings, or other smooth-surfaced jewelry, wet a bit of cloth with 
the compound, after having shaken it, and rub the article thor¬ 
oughly; then polish by rubbing with a silk handkerchief or piece 
of soft chamois skin. For articles which are rough-surfaced, use 
a brush. It is applicable for gold, silver, brass, britannia, plated 
goods, etc. 

For Writing upon Metals.— Take muriatic acid,l oz.; nitric 
acid, -£ oz. Mix, when it is ready for use. Cover the place you 
wish to mark, or write upon, with melted beeswax; when cold, 
write the name plain with a file point or an instrument made for 
the purpose, carrying it through the wax and cleaning the wax 
all out of the letter; then apply the mixed acids with a feather, 
carefully filling each letter; let it remain from one to ten min¬ 
utes, according to the appearance desired; then put on some 
water, which dilutes the acids and stops the process. Either of 
the acids alone would cut iron or steel, but it requires the mix¬ 
ture to take hold of gold or silver. After you wash off the 
acids, it is best to apply a little oil. 


SIZE OF SHEET FOR OIL CANS, FROM 1 TO 100 GALLONS. 


For 1 gallon 
3 * “ 

5 “ 

6 “ 

10 “ 

15 “ 


7 by 20 inches. 
10 by 28 “ 

12 by 40 “ 

,14 by 40 “ 

.20 by 42 “ 

,30 by 42 “ 


For 25 gallons 
40 “ 

50 “ 

75 “ 

100 “ 


30 by 56 “ 

,30 by 63 “ 

,40 by 70 “ 

,40 by 84 “ 

,40 by 98 “ 


NUMBER OF NAILS IN A POUND, 


Size. 

Length. 

Number. 

3-pennv — 

4 “ 

...1 inch— 

,...\y± “ .... 

....353 “ 

5 “ :::: 

_l&f “ _ 

....232 “ 

6 “ .... 

...2 “ .... 

....167 “ 

7 “ ... 

2/4 “ 

... 141 “ 

8 “ .... 

....2a “ .... 

....101 “ 

10 “ .... 

....2% “ .... 

.... 98 “ 


Size. 

Length. 

Number, 

12-penny — 



20 “ .... 

...,3a “ •••• 

....34 “ 

Spikes. 

.4 “ .... 

....16 “ 

44 . 

.4^ “ .... 

....12 “ 


....5 “ . 


(i 

....6 « _ 

.... 7 “ 

« 

:..: 7 “ .... 

...5 •* 


To Mend Broken Saws.—Pure silver, 19 parts; pure cop¬ 
per, 1 part; pure brass, 2 parts; all are to be filed into powder 
and intimately mixed. If the saw is not recently broken, apply 
a tinning preparation. Place the saw level upon the anvil, the 
broken edges in close contact, and hold them so; now put a 
small line of the mixture along the seam, covering it with a 

larger bulk of powdered charcoal; now, with a spirit lamp and 

39 
















































618 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


a jeweler’s blow pipe, hold the coal dust in place, and blow suffi¬ 
cient to melt the solder mixture; then with a hammer set the 
joint smooth, if not already so, and file away any superfluous 
solder. The heat upon a saw does not injure its temper as it 
does other tools, from the fact that the temper is rolled in, in 
place of by heat and water. 

WOOD AND TIMBER. 


Relative Hardness of Woods. —Of the common Ameri¬ 
can woods, shellbark hickory is the hardest. Taking this as the 
standard at 100, other woods hold a per cent, of hardness about 
as follows: 


Shell Bark. 100 

Pignut Hickory. 96 

White Oak. 84 

White Ash. 77 

Dogwood. 75 

Scrub Oak. 73 

White Hazel. 72 

Apple Tree. 70 


Red Oak. 60 

White Beach. 65 

Black Walnut. 65 

Black Birch. 62 

Yellow Oak. 60 

White Elm. 58 

Hard Maple. 56 

Red Cedar. 56 


Wild Cherry. 55 

Yellow Pine. 54 

Chestnut. 52 

Yallow Poplar. 51 

Butternut. 43 

White Birch. 43 

White Pine. 30 


How to Preserve Timber.— The best way to preserve 
timber exposed to the action of the weather is to force into the 
pores of well-seasoned wood as much carbolic acid and lard oil, 
equal parts, as possible. This soon resinifies, and most effectu¬ 
ally prevents the timber from dry-rot or decay. On a large 
scale, as for railway sleepers, expensive appliances are needed; 
but for barns or outbuildings it may be applied to considerable 
advantage by the use of a paint brush. 


Another Preservative. —With every 25 gallons of water 
required, mix 5 pounds chloride of zinc. Wood steeped in this 
solution will effectually resist dry-rot. 

Hard Coating for Wood.— Melt together 40 parts chalk, 
50 resin, and 4 linseed oil; to this should be added 1 part oxide 
of copper, and afterwards 1 part sulphuric acid. This last 
ingredient must be added carefully. The mixture, while hot, is 
applied with a brush, and forms, when dry, a varnish as hard as 
stone. This is an excellent application to protect posts, tubs, or 
other wooden articles which are set in the earth. 


HOW TO MAKE INK. 

Black Writing Ink.— Bruised Aleppo nut-galls, 12 pounds; 
water, 6 gallons; boil in copper vessel for 1 hour, adding water 
to make up for the portion lost by evaporation; strain and again 



























ODDS AND ENDS. 


619 


boil the galls with water, 4 gallons, for i hour, strain off the 
liquor and boil a third time with water, 2-J gallons, and strain; 
mix the several liquors, and while still hot add green copperas 
(sulphate of iron) coarsely powdered, 4 pounds; gum-arabic 
bruised small, 3^ pounds; agitate until dissolved, and, when set¬ 
tled, strain through a hair sieve, and keep it in a bunged-up cask 
for use. This will produce 12 gallons, very fine and durable. 

Another Formula. —Digest i pound logwood in fine chips 
for 12 hours in 3 pints boiling water; then simmer down gently 
to 1 quart, carefully avoiding dust, grease, and smoke. When 
cold, filter the decoction, and dissolve in it by agitation 20 
grains yellow chromate of potash; it will then be fit for use. 

Copying Ink. — Take copperas, 4 ounces ; nut-galls, 12 
ounces; logwood, 8 ounces; vinegar, 8 ounces; gum-arabic, 1 
ounce; glycerine, -J- ounce; water, 48 ounces; all the solid sub¬ 
stances are to be pulverized and boiled for an hour together; 
they are then set to cool; strain through a flannel bag, and after 
that filter through a folded filter. A drop of oil of cloves is 
added., the whole well shaken and filled into bottles. This ink 
will copy well. If it is to be used only for ordinary writing, the 
glycerine may be omitted. 

Indelible Ink. —Dissolve 1 ounce nitrate of silver and tr¬ 
ounces crystalized carbonate of soda in separate portions of dis¬ 
tilled water, and mix the solutions; collect the resulting preci¬ 
pitate on a filter, wash it thoroughly with distilled water, and 
.introduce it, while still moist, into a wedge wood-ware mortar; 
add 8 scruples tartaric acid, and triturate the whole until effer¬ 
vescence has ceased; next add sufficient ammonia to dissolve 
the tartrate of silver; mix in 4 fluid drachms archil, 4 drachms 
white sugar, and 12 drachms finely-powdered gum-arabic; then 
add sufficient distilled water to make 6 ounces of the mixture. 
This ink fulfills all the conditions that a marking ink should 
possess : It flows freely from the pen without running or blot¬ 
ting; it does not require a very strong or long-continued heat 
to develop it; when developed it is perfectly black; and it does 
not injure the texture of the finest fabric. 

Marking Mixture. —Take lampblack and mix thoroughly 
with sufficient turpentine to make it thin enough to flow from 


820 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


the brush. Powdered ultramarine, instead of lampblack, makes 
a fine blue marking mixture for the same purpose. 

WATERPROOFING. 

For General Use. —Take paraffine cut in small slices, and 
dissolve in pure naphtha or benzine, entirely free from fat or 
oil. An excess of paraffine should be used, so as to make sure 
of having a perfectly saturated solution. The solution is to be 
made in a vessel with a glass stopper, and is to be shaken repeat¬ 
edly until the result is accomplished. The articles to be treated 
are immersed in the solution for a time, according to the thick¬ 
ness or porosity of the tissue, and arranged to secure either a 
complete saturation or the penetration of the liquid to any 
required depth. After removal, the articles are to be dried by 
the application of heat or in the air. The solvent evaporates, 
leaving the paper or other substance saturated with paraffine 
impermeable to water and capable of resisting the action of 
acids. Articles of dress, such as paper collars and wristbands, 
should be subjected to the action of a flat-iron or heated cylin¬ 
der in order to give them a high degree of polish. The process 
has been patented in Paris, and is applicable to paper, cloth, 
cork, sponge and other porous substances not waterproof, as well 
as articles manufactured from these materials, including bank¬ 
notes, envelopes, gloves, clothing, paper collars, umbrellas, 
labels, etc. 

Waterproofing for Military Goods.— Balard recom¬ 
mends the application of acetate of alumina for the purpose of 
rendering clothing impervious to water. The cloth is to be 
immersed in a mixture of solutions of acetate of lead and sul¬ 
phate of alumina; by mutual decomposition of the salts, acetate 
of alumina is produced on the cloth, and when the goods are 
dried, basic acetate of alumina adheres to the fibre, and thus 
protects it from the action of moisture. 

Waterproofing for Cloth. —Spread the cloth on any smooth 
surface, and rub the wrong side with a lump of beeswax (per¬ 
fectly pure and free from grease), until the surface presents a 
slight, but uniform, white or grayish appearance. If this be 
done carefully and thoroughly, it will be made waterproof, 
though not air proof. 


ODDS AND ENDS. 


621 


TESTS FOIl THE PURITY OF WATER. 

For persons who cannot command chemical analysis, the fol¬ 
lowing tests for water are recommended as being generally avail¬ 
able and reliable: 

Color. —Fill a bottle made of colorless glass with the water; 
look through the water at some black object; the water should 
appear perfectly colorless and free from suspended matter. A 
muddy or turbid appearance indicates the presence of soluble 
organic matter, or of soluble matter in suspension. It should 
be “ clear as crystal.” 

Odor. —Empty out some of the water, leaving the bottle half 
full; cork up the bottle and place it for a few hours in a warm 
place; shake up the water, remove the cork and critically smell 
the air contained in the bottle. If it has any smell, and espe* 
-cially if the odor is in the least repulsive, the water should be 
rejected for domestic use. By heating the water to boiling, an 
odor is evolved sometimes that otherwise does not appear. 

Taste. —Water fresh from the well is usually tasteless, even 
though it may contain a large amount of putrescible organic 
matter. Water for domestic use should be perfectly tasteless, 
and remain so even after it has been warmed, since warming 
often develops a taste in water which is tasteless when cold. If 
the water, at any time, has a repulsive or even disagreeable 
taste, it should be rejected. 

Test for Sewage Contamination. —Fill a clean pint bottle 
three-fourths full of the water to be tested, and dissolve in the 
water a teaspoonful of the purest sugar—loaf or granulated 
sugar will answer—cork the bottle and place it in a warm place 
for two days. If in 24 to 48 hours the water becomes cloudy 
or muddy, it is unfit for domestic use. If it remains perfectly 
clear it is probably safe to use. 

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES. 

Druggists’ Colors for Window Jars.— Yellow— Take 
iron filings, sufficient hydro-chloric acid to dissolve, and add to 
the cold water. 

Purple— 25 grains cochineal, 1 ounce sugar of lead; dissolve 
and add to the water. 


622 SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 

Blue —Oil of vitriol 2 parts, indigo 1 part; dissolve and add 
to the water. 

Red —Solution of sal-ammoniac, cochineal to color; add to the 
water. 

Green —Acetic acid 3 parts; verdigris 1 part; dilute and add 
to the water. 

To Remove Rings from Fingers.— Where the finger is 
swollen or the joints too large for the ring to pass readily, wind 
the finger with cotton thread, beginning at the end of the 
finger, or far enough down to cover the enlarged part, and wind 
upward, the threads touching each other, as on a spool, and 
winding tightly, so as to compass the flesh; having reached 
the ring, pass the end of the thread under it by means of a 
needle or otherwise; then slowly unwind the thread, pressing it 
moderately against the side of the ring in doing so, and the ring 
will follow the thread, or be carried before it, as it unwinds. A 
tolerably coarse thread should be used. 

Fusil Oil in Alcohol. —To detect fusil oil in alcohol which 
is fairly strong, Dr. Hager dilutes the liquid with an equal 
amount of water, then adds glycerine and evaporates the whole 
upon filter paper. When the alcohol escapes the odor of the 
fusil oil may be very easily perceived. 

To Remove Skunk Odor. —To take the odor from skunk 
skins or articles of clothing scented, hold them over a fire of 
red cedar boughs, and sprinkle with chloride of lime; or, wrap 
them in green hemlock boughs, when they are to be had, and in 
24 hours they will be deodorized. 

To Preserve Gun Barrels from Rust.— An ointment 
made of corrosive sublimate and lard will prove an effectual pro¬ 
tection against the rusting of gun-barrels on the sea-shore. 

To Temper Trap Springs. —For tempering cast-steel trap 
springs, all that is necessary is to heat them in the dark just so 
that you may see it is red, then cool them in lukewarm water. 
The reason why darkness is required to temper springs is that a 
lower degree of heat can be seen in the night than by daylight; 
and the low heat and warm water give the desired temper. 




. ■ 


Farm Scene—The Tiller. 















ODDS AND ENDS, 


623 


TABLES FOR MANURING AND PLOWING. 

The following tables will be of service to farmers in the econ¬ 
omy of manuring and plowing: 


TABLE FOR MANURING LAND. 


§ V 

[Sq ^ 

1 

Heaps 
in a 
Load. 

2 

Heaps 
in a 
Load. 

3 

Heaps 
in a 
Load. 

4 

Heaps 
in a 
Load. 

5 

Heaps 
in a 
Load. 

6 

Heaps 
in a 
Load. 

7 

Heaps 
in a 
Load. 

8 

Heaps 
in a 
Load. 

9 

Heaps 
in a 
Load. 

10 

Heaps 
in a 
Load. 

Yds. 

Loads. 

Loads. 

Loads. 

Loads. 

Loads. 

Loads. 

Loads. 

Loads. 

Loads. 

Loads. 

1 

4840 

2420 

1614 

1210 

968 

807 

692 

605 

538 

484 

ltf 

2152 

1076 

718 

538 

431 

359 

308 

269 

240 

216 

2 

1210 

605 

404 

303 

242 

202 

173 

152 

135 

121 

2^ 

775 

388 

259 

194 

155 

130 

111 

97 

87 

78 

3 

538 

269 

180 

135 

108 

90 

77 

68 

60 

54 

3 y 2 

396 

198 

132 

99 

80 

66 

57 

50 

44 

40 

4 

303 

152 

101 

76 

61 

51 

44 

38 

34 

31 

4 % 

240 

120 

80 

60 

48 

40 

35 

30 

27 

24 

5 

294 

97 

65 

49 

39 

33 

28 

25 

22 

20 

5*£ 

160 

80 

54 

40 

32 

27 

23 

20 

18 

16 

6 

135 

68 

45 

34 

27 

23 

20 

17 

15 

14 

oy 

115 

58 

39 

29 

23 

20 

17 

15 

13 

12 

iy 

4 

99 

50 

33 

25 

20 

17 

15 

13 

11 

10 

7 34 

87 

44 

29 

22 

18 

15 

13 

11 

10 

9 

8 

76 

38 

26 

19 

16 

13 

11 

10 

9 

8 

8J4 

67 

34 

23 

17 

14 

12 

10 

9 

8 

7 

9 

60 

30 

20 

15 

12 

10 

9 

8 

7 

6 

9*6 

54 

27 

18 

14 

11 

9 

8 

7 

6 

6 

10 

49 

25 

17 

13 

10 

9 

7 

7 

6 

5 


Explanation.— The left-hand column shows the distance of the heaps of manure in 
yards, the figures at the top the number of heaps in a load, and under them the num¬ 
ber of loads required for an acre for any given distance of the heaps:—thus, if heaps of 
clay are set 3*4 yards asunder, and 5 heaps made of a load, then under five in the table, 
and opposite 3*£ yards in the width, you will find 80, which shows the number of loads 
required for an acre. Again, if the manure heaps are 7 yards distant from each other, 
and 8 heaps made of a load, the table shows that 13 loads are required to manure an 
acre. 


PLOWING. 


Names of Fields. 

Length of Land. 
Yards. 

Breadth to give 
an acre. Yds. 

Breadth of the 
furrow slice. 
Inches. 

No. of furrows in 
an acre. 

Time that it takes 

in turning. Hours 
and minutes. 

Time taken in 
turning the soil. 
Hours and min¬ 
utes. 

No. of hours in 
the day’s work. 

Short lands. 

78 

186 

8 

279 

4 39 

3 21 

8 

Harper’s Hill. 

149 

98 

8 

147 

2 27 

5 33 

8 

Home Close. 

200 

73 

8 

109 

1 49 

6 11 

8 

East Lake. 

212 

69 

8 

103 

1 43 

6 17 

8 

Long Lands. 

274 

53 

8 

79 

1 19 

6 41 

8 


Explanation. —When the land is no more than 78 yards long, 4 hours and 39 minutes 
are-spent merely in turning at the ends, in a journey of 8 hours; whereas, when the 
land is 274 yards long, 1 hour and 19 minutes are sufficient for that purpose in the same 
length of time. 

The whole series of furrows on an acre of land, supposing each to be 9 inches in 
width, Avould extend in length to 19,360 yards; and, adding 12 yards to every 220, for the 
average estimated ground traveled over in turning, the whole work of plowing one 
acre may be given as extending to 20,416 yards, or 11 miles and nearly 5 furlongs. 













































624 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE 


TABLES FOR SEEDING AND PLANTING. 


QUANTITY OP SEED REQUIRED TO THE ACRE. 


Seed. 


Quantity. 


Wheat. 

. 1J4 to 2 

Barley. 


Oats. 


Rye. 


Buckwheat. 

. 34 to 

Millet. 

. 1 to 134 

Corn. 


Beans. 


Peas. 

. 234 to 334 

Hemp. 

. l to 1J4 

Flax. 


Rice. 

. 2 to 2^ 


bush. 

u 


ii 


it 


Seed. 

Quantity, 

Broom Corn. 

Potatoes. 

Timothy. 

Mustard. 

. l to l^bush, 

. 6 to 20 “ 

Herd Grass. 

. 12 to 16 “ 

Flat turnip. 


Red clover. 

. 10 to 16 “ 

White clover. 

. 3 to 4 “ 

Blue Grass. .. 

. 10 to 15 “ 

Orchard Grass. 

.20 to 30 “ 

Carrots. 


Parsnips. 

. 6 to 8 “ 


QUANTITY OP SEED PER ACRE WHEN PLANTED IN ROWS OR DRILLS. 


Broom Corn 

Beans. 

Peas. 

Onions. 


1 to IHj bush. 

lJ4to2 

1J4 to 2 

4 to 5 lbs. 


Carrots.. 
Parsnips 
Beets.... 


2 to 2J4 lbs. 
4 to 5 “ 

4 to 6 


NUMBER OF SEEDS IN ONE POUND, AND WEIGHT PER BUSHEL. 


NAME. 

No. of 

Seeds per lb. 

No. lbs. 
per bush 

Wheat... 

10,500 

58 

to 64 

Barley. 

15,400 
20,000 
23,000 
600 to 1,300 
1,800 to 2,000 
108,000 
155,000 
75,000 
128,000 
24,600 
97.000 
257,000 
205,000 
249,600 
686,400 

48 

to 56 


38 

to 42 


56 

to 60 

Beans. 

60 

to 65 


60 

to 65 

Fln/jr seed.. 

50 

to 60 

Turnip seed. 

50 

to 56 

Mustard (white). 

57 

Cabbage seed. 

52 


Mfl/ngeT-wlirzel. 

20 

to 24 

Parsnip seed. 

14 

■Carrot seed. 

9 


Tjiicern seed. 

58 

to 60 
to 63 
to 62 

fllover (red). 

60 

Clover (white). 

59 



NUMBER OF HILLS OR PLANTS ON AN ACRE OF LAND AT A GIVEN DISTANCE APART. 



10 in. 

12 in. 

15 in. 

18 in. 

20 in. 

2 ft. 

Sfcft 

3 ft. 3J4ft 

4 ft 

Wt 

5 ft 5)4ft 

1 

6 ft. 

10 in... 

62726 














12 in... 

52272 

43560 













13 in... 

41817 

34848 

27878 












18 in... 

34848 

29040 

23232 

19360 











20 in... 

31368 

26136 

2090S 

17424 

15681 










2 ft... 

26136 

21780 

17424 

14520 

13068 

1089C 









234 ft... 

2090S 

17424 

13937 

11616 

10454 

8712 

6969 








3 f t... 

17424 

14520 

11616 

6680 

8712 

7260 

5808 

4840 







334 ft... 

14935 

12446 

9953 

8297 

7467 

6223 

4976 

4148 

3565 






4 ft... 

13068 

10890 

8712 

7260 

6534 

5445 

4356 

3630 

3111 

2722 





434 ft... 

11616 

9680 

7744 

6453 

5808 

4840 

3872 

8226 

2767 

2420 

2151 




5 ft... 

10454 

8712 

6969 

5808 

5227 

4356 

3484 

2904 

2489 

2178 

1936 

1742 



534 ft. • 

9504 

7920 

6336 

5280 

4752 

3960 

3168 

2640 

2263 

1980 

1760 

1584 

1440 


6 f t... 

8712 

7260 

5808 

4840 

4356 

3630 

2904 

2420 

2074 

1865 

1613 

1452 

1320 

1210 




























































































ODDS AND ENDS. 


625 


NUMBER OF PLANTS, HILLS, OR TREES ON 


3 
3 

3 

f* 

4 
4 

4 

4 ^ 

5 
5 
5 
5 
5 

5 ^ 


Distance Apart. 

3 inches by 3 inches 

4 “ by 4 “ 

6 “ by 9 

9 “ by 9 “ 

1 foot by 1 foot- 

lj^feet by VA feet. 

2 . “ by 1 foot. . 

2 “ by2feet... 

2^ “ by2U“ ... 

“ by 1 foot... 

“ by2feet... 

“ by3 “ ... 
“ by 3}A feet.. 
“ by 1 foot... 

“ by2feet... 

“ by3 “ ... 
“ by4 “ ... 
“ by 4J4 feet. 

“ by 1 foot... 

“ by2feet... 

“ by3 “ ... 
“ by 4 “ ... 
“ by5 “ ... 
“ by 5^j feet. 


No. of Plants. 

. 696,960 

.392,040 

.174,240 

. 77,440 

. 43,560 

. 19,360 

. 21,780 

. 10,890 

. 6,960 

. 14,520 

. 7,260 

. 4,840 

. 3,555 

. 10,890 

. 5,445 

. 3,630 

. 2,723 

. 2,151 

. 8,712 

. 4,359 

. 2,904 

. 2,178 

. 1,743 

. 1,417 


AN ACRE AT EQUAL DISTANCES APART. 


Distance 

Apart. 

No. of Plants. 

6 feet 

by 

6 feet. 


6 

a 

by 

6^ 

44 

. 1.031 

7 

a 

by 

7 

44 

. 881 

8 

4 ( 

by 

8 

44 

. 680 

9 

44 

by 

9 

44 

. 537 

10 

44 

by 

10 

44 

. 435 

11 

44 

by 

11 

44 

. 360 

12 

44 

by 

12 

44 

. 302 

13 

44 

by 

13 

44 

. 257 

14 

44 

by 

14 

44 

. 222 

15 

44 

by 

15 

44 

. 193 

16 

44 

by 

16 

44 

. 170 

16V6 

44 

by 

16^ 

44 

. 160 

17 

44 

by 

17 

44 

. 150 

18 

44 

by 

18 

44 

. 134 

19 

44 

by 

19 

44 

. 120 

20 

44 

by 

20 

44 

. 108 

25 

44 

by 

25 

44 

. 69 

30 

44 

by 

30 

44 

. 48 

83 

44 

by 

33 

44 

. 40 

40 

44 

by 

40 

44 

. 27 

50 

44 

by 

50 

44 

. 17 

€0 

44 

by 

60 

44 

. 12 

66 

44 

by 

66 

44 

. 10 


QUANTITY OF GARDEN SEEDS REQUIRED TO PLANT A GIVEN SPACE. 


Name. 


Space and Quantity of Seeds. 


Asparagus. 

Asparagus roots... 
Eng. Dwarf Beans. 
French Dwf. Beans. 
Beans, pole, large.. 
Beans, pole, small.. 

Beets. 

Broccoli and Kale. 

Cabbage. 

Cauliflower. 

Carrot. 

Celery. 

Cucumber. 

Cress. 

Egg Plant. 

Endive. 

Leek. 

Lettuce. 

Melon. 

Nasturtium. 

Onion. 

Okra. 

Parsley. 

Parsnip. 

Peppers. 

Peas. 

Pumpkin. 

Radish. 

Salsify. 

Spinach. 

Squash. 

Tomato. 

Turnip. 

Water Melon. 


1 oz. produces 1,000 plants, and requires a bed 12 feet square. 

1,000 plant a bed 4 feet wide, 225 feet long. 

1 quart plants from 100 to 150 feet of row. 

1 quart plants 250 or 350 of row. 

1 quart plants 100 hills. 

1 quart plants 300 hills or 250 feet of row. 

10lbs. to the acre; 1 oz. plants 150 feet of row. 

1 oz. gives 2,500 plants, and requires 40 square feet of ground. 

Early sorts same as broccoli, and require 60 square feet of ground. 
The same as cabbage. 

1 oz. to 150 feet of row. 

1 oz. gives 7,000 plants, and requires 8 square feet of ground. 

1 oz. for 150 hills. 

1 oz. sows a bed 16 feet square. 

1 oz. gives 2,000 plants. 

1 oz. gives 3,000 plants, and requires 80 feet of ground. 

1 oz. gives 2,000 plants, and requires 60 feet of ground. 

1 oz. gives 7,000 plants, and requires seed bed of 120 feet. 

1 oz. for 120 hills. 

1 oz. sows 25 feet of row. 

1 oz. sows 200 feet of row. 

1 oz. sows 200 feet of row. 

1 oz. sows 200 feet of row. 

1 oz. sows 250 feet of row. 

1 oz. gives 2,500 plants. 

1 quart sows 120 feet of row. 

1 oz. to 50 hills. 

1 oz. to 100 feet. 

1 oz. to 150 feet of row. 

1 oz. to 200 feet of row. 

1 oz. to 75 hills. 

1 oz. gives 2,500 plants, requiring seed bed of 80 feet. 

1 oz. to 2,000 feet. 

1 oz. to 50 hills. 


WEIGHT OF VARIOUS ARTICLES. 


Weight of a cubic foot of various substances, from which the bulk of a load of one 
ton may be easily calculated: 


Cast iron. 450 pounds. 

Water. 62 “ 

White pine, seasoned, about.. 30 

White oak. seasoned, about.. 52 “ 

Loose earth, about. 95 “ 


Common soil, compact, about 124 pounds. 

Clay, about. 135 

Clay, with stones, about- 160 “ 

Brick, about. 125 “ 

Stone, about. 170 “ 





























































































626 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


MEASUREMENT AND VALUE OF HAY. 

Hay in a mow 10 feet drop, put in in good order, and not too 
ripe when cut, ought to average one ton to each 525 cubic feet. 
The compression increases rapidly as the height increases, and a 
mow of the same hay, 15 feet drop, would probably turn out a 
ton to 475 cubic feet, if not even to 425 feet. All such guess¬ 
ing, however, is very hazardous, and it is always safer to buy or 
sell only by actual weight. The following table shows the price 
per hundred weight of hay at given prices per ton: 


Price 
per Ton. 

is 

O 

* 

1 Cwt. 

2 Cwt. 

3 Cwt. 

4 Cwt. 

5 Cwt. 

6 Cwt. | 

7 Cwt. 

8 Cwt. 

9 Cwt. 

10 Cwt. 

11 Cwt. 

$ cts. 

cts. 

cts. 

$ cts. 

$ cts. 

$ cts. 

$ cts. 

$ cts. 

$ cts. 

$ cts. 

$ cts. 

$ cts. 

$ cts. 

4 00 

10 

20 

40 

60 

80 

1 00 

1 20 

1 40 

1 60 

1 80 

2 00 

2 20 

5 00 

12 

25 

50 

75 

1 00 

1 25 

1 50 

1 75 

2 00 

2 25 

2 60 

2 75 

6 00 

15 

30 

60 

90 

1 20 

1 50 

1 80 

2 10 

2 40 

2 70 

3 00 

3 30 

7 00 

17 

35 

70 

1 05 

1 40 

1 75 

2 10 

2 45 

2 80 

3 15 

3 50 

3 85 

8 00 

20 

40 

80 

1 20 

1 60 

2 00 

2 40 

2 80 

3 20 

3 60 

4 00 

4 40 

9 00 

22 

45 

90 

1 35 

1 80 

2 25 

2 70 

3 15 

3 60 

4 05 

4 50 

4 95 

10 00 

25 

. 50 

1 00 

1 50 

200 

2 50 

3 00 

3 50 

4 00 

4 50 

5 00 

5 50 

11 00 

27 

55 

1 10 

1 65 

2 20 

2 75 

3 30 

3 85 

4 40 

4 95 

5 50 

6 00 

12 00 

30 

60 

1 20 

1 80 

2 40 

3 00 

3 60 

4 20 

4 80 

5 40 

6 00 

6 60 

13 00 

32 

65 

1 30 

1 95 

2 60 

3 25 

3 90 

4 55 

5 20 

5 85 

6 50 

7 15 

14 00 

35 

70 

1 40 

2 10 

2 80 

3 50 

4 20 

4 90 

5 60 

6 30 

7 00 

7 70 

15 00 

37 

75 

1 50 

2 25 

3 00 

3 75 

4 50 

5 25 

6 00 

6 75 

7 50 

8 25 


GRINDING AND PRODUCT OF GRAIN. 

POWER REQUIRED TO GRIND GRAIN WITH PORTABLE MILLS, AND THE AVERAGE PRODUCT 

OP DIFFERENT KINDS OP GRAIN. 


Horse Power. 

Size of Stones. 

Revolutions per 
Minute. 

Bushels Com per 
Hour. 

Bushels Wheat 
per Hour. 

2 to 5 

12 inch. 

800 to 900 

1 to 4 

1 to 3 

5 to 8 

20 “ 

650 to 700 

5 to 8 

4 to 6 

8 to 11 

30 “ 

550 to 600 

10 to 15 

7 to 10 

12 to 18 

36 “ 

450 to 500 

18 to 25 

12 to 15 

20 to 30 

48 “ 

350 to 400 

25 to 35 

15 to 18 


It takes about 12 bushels of oats to make a barrel of 200 pounds of oatmeal; 
another rating estimates that 14 pounds of oats produce 8 pounds of oat meal. 

One bushel of buckwheat, or 50 pounds, will produce 25 pounds of buckwheat flour; 
more may be obtained, but the quality will be impaired. 

One bushel of good wheat (60 pounds) is estimated to make 40 pounds of flour; that 
is, 2J4 bushels of wheat for 100 pounds of flour. 

A barrel of flour weighs 196 pounds; a barrel of pork, 200 pounds; a barrel of beef, 
200 pounds; a barrel of salt, 180 pounds; a firkin of butter, 56 pounds; corn, 5 bushels 
to the barrel; potatoes, 2)4 bushels to the barrel. 

The following measures of grain give nearly the quantities of meal, flour and bread 
stated, viz: 

Wheat weighing 60 pounds makes 45 pounds of flour and 54 pounds of bread. 

Rye r ‘ 54 “ 42 “ 56 « 

Barley “ 48 “ 3714 41 50 “ 

Oats “ 40 “ 22)4 “ 30 “ 





































ODDS AND ENDS. 


627 


REPRODUCTIVE POWER OF ANIMALS. 

The following table shows the period of reproduction and ges¬ 
tation of different domestic animals: 




Period of 

Number of 
females 
for one 
male. 

Period of gestation and incubation. 


Proper age 
for repro- 

the power 




Animals. 

of repro- 





duction. 

duction in 

Shortest 

Mean peri¬ 

Longest pe¬ 



years. 

period, days 

od, days. 

riod, days. 

Mare. 

4 years. 

5 11 

10 to 12 


322 

347 

419 

Stallion. 

12 to 15 

20 to 30 

Clow. 

3 “ 

10 to 14 

240 

283 

321 

Bull,. 

3 “ 

8 to 10 

30 to 40 

Ewe. 

2 “ 

6 


146 

154 

161 

Ram. 

2 “ 

7 

40 to 50 

Sow. 

1 “ 

6 


109 

115 

142 

Boar. 

1 “ 

6 

6 to 10 




Nanny Goat.. 

2 “ 

6 

150 

156 

163 

Buck Goat.... 

2 “ 

5 

20 to 40 


380 


Jenny. 

4 “ 

10 to 12 


365 

391 

Jack. 

5 “ 

12 to 15 





Cow Buffalo.. 


8 


281 

308 

335 

Bitch. 

2 “ 

8 to 9 


55 

60 

63 

Dog. 

2 “ 

8 to 9 





Tabby Cat.... 

1 “ 

5 to 6 


48 

50 

56 

Tom Cat. 

1 “ 

9 to 10 

5 to 6 




Doe Rabbit... 

6 months. 
6 “ 

5 to 6 

30 

20 

28 

35 

Buck Rabbit.. 

5 to 6 




Cock. 

6 “ 

5 to 6 

12 to 15 




Hen. 


5 to 6 


19 

21 

24 

Turkey. 


3 to 5 


24 

26 

30 

Duck. 




28 

30 

32 

Goose. 




27 

30 

33 

Pigeon . 

Pea Hen. 




16 

25 

18 

28 

20 

30 

Guinea Hen .. 




20 

23 

25 

Swan. 




40 

42 

45 









VALUE OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF WOOD AS FUEL. 


The celebrated experiments of Marcus Bull, of Philadelphia, 
many years ago gave the following results, showing the amount 
of other fuel required to throw out a given quantity of heat, as 
compared with hickory: 


Hickory.... 
White Oak.. 
Hard Maple 
Soft Maple. 


4 cords. 
.4 3-4 “ 

6 2-3 “ 
.71-5 “ 


Pitch Pine.91-7 cords. 

White.91-5 “ 

Anthracite Coal .4 tons. 

Bituminous Coal.5 “ 


TEMPERATURE FOR THE RISING OF CREAM. 


The temperature of the surrounding air has a great effect upon 
the time required for the rising of cream. Experiment has 
demonstrated that, with the thermometer at 



55 deg. all the cream will rise in 24 hours. 
50 “ “ “ 36 " 

45 “ “ “ 43 “ 

















































RATE OF WAGES PER WEEK. 


628 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE 


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ODDS AND ENDS. 


629 


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630 


SOCIETY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE. 


BOARD BY THE WEEK. 

The following tables will enable persons to readily compute 
board for fractions of a week, and will also answer for calculat¬ 
ing the amount of wages by the week or month of persons 
who are compelled to labor on Sunday; being calculated for 
seven days in the week. Multiplying the tables by four will 
give wages by the month. 


Showing the rate of 
board per day, at 
$1.00 per week. 

Showing the rate of 
board per day, at 
$1.25 per week. 

Showing the rate of 
board per day at 
$1.50 per week. 

Showing the rate of 
board per day, at 
$1.75 per week. 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 14% 

2 28% 

3 42?| 

4 57 

5 71 

6 85% 

7 1 00 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 17% 

2 35% 

3 53*2 

4 71*1 

5 89% 

6 1 07% 

7 1 25 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 21% 

2 43 

3 64% 

4 85% 

5 1 07 

6 1 28% 

7., 150 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 25 

2 50 

3 75 

4 1 00 

5 1 25 

6 1 50 

7 1 75 

At $2.00. 

At $2.25. 

At $2.50. 

At $2.75. 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 28% 

2 57 

3 85% 

4 1 14% 

5 1 42% 

6 1 71*2 

7 2 00 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 32 

2 64% 

3 96% 

4 1 28*2 

5 1 60% 

6 1 92% 

7 2 25 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 35% 

2 71% 

3 1 01% 

4 1 43 

5 1 78% 

6 2 14% 

7 2 50 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 39*4 

2 78*| 

3 1 17% 

4 1 57 

6 1 96% 

6 2 35% 

7 2 75 

At $3.00. 

At $3.25. 

At $3.50. 

At $3.75. 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 43 

2 85% 

3 1 28% 

4 1 71*2 

5 2 14% 

6 2 57 

7 3 00 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 46% 

2 93 

3 1 88% 

4 1 85% 

5 2 32% 

6 2 78*2 

7 3 25 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 50 

2 1 00 

3 1 50 

4 2 00 

5 2 50 

6 3 00 

7 3 50 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 ,8* 

3 1 60% 

4 2 14*4 

5 2 67% 

6 3 21% 

7 3 75 

At $4.00. 

At $4.50. 

At $5.00. 

At $6.00. 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 57 

2 1 14% 

3 1 71% 

4 2 28*| 

5 2 85*1 

6 3 42% 

7 4 00 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 64% 

2 1 28*2 

3 1 92% 

4 2 57 

5 3 21% 

6 3 85% 

7 4 50 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 71% 

2 1 43 

3 2 14% 

4 2 85% 

5 3 57 

6 4 71% 

7 5 00 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 85% 

2 1 71% 

3 2 57% 

4 3 43 

5 4 28% 

6 5 14% 

7 6 00 

At $7.00. 

At $8.00. 

At $9.00. 

At $10.00. 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 1 00 

2 2 00 

3 3 00 

4 4 00 

5 5 00 

6 6 00 

7 7 00 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 1 14% 

2 2 28% 

3 3 42% 

4 4 57 

5 5 71% 

6 6 85% 

7 8 00 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 1 28% 

2 2 57 

3 3 85% 

4 5 14% 

5 6 43 

6 7 71% 

7 9 00 

Days. Dols. c. 

1 1 42% 

2 2 85% 

3 4 28% 

4 5 71% 

5 7 14% 

6 8 5 7 

7 10 00 




























ODDS AND ENDS. 


631 


FENCING. 

The following table shows the estimated number of pounds of 
barbed wire required to fence space or distances mentioned, 
with one, two or three lines of wire, based upon each pound of 
wire measuring one rod: 


Space or Distance. 

One Line. 

Two Lines. 

Three Lines. 

1 Square acre. 

50% lbs. 

101% lbs. 
25 % 

72 

2560 “ 

152 lbs. 

1 SinA of a sqiiarA anrfi. 

38 

108 “ 

1 Square hair aorfi. 

36^ “ 

1 Square mile... 

1280 “ 

3840 “ 

1 Side of a square mile. 

320 “ 

640 “ 

960 “ 

1 Rod in length. 

1 “ 

2 “ 

3 “ 

100 Rods in length. 

100 “ 

200 “ 

300 

100 Feet in length... 

6 1-16 “ 

12% “ 

18 3-16 “ 



NUMBER OF RAILS, STAKES AND RIDERS REQUIRED FOR 10 RODS OF FENCE. 


Length 
of Rail. 

Deflection 
from right 
line. 

Length 
of Panel. 

No. of 
Panels. 

% 

Number of Rails for each 10 Rods. 

o 

Ut to 

<u 

O ^ 

u e ® 
5 5 t>c 
Ats a 

Feet. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

5 rails high. 

6 rails high. 

7 rails high. 

S-S. 

§cc 

|Ss 

* 

12 

6 

8 

20% 

103 

123 

144 

42 

21 

14 

7 

10 

16 % 

83 

99 

116 

34 

17 

16% 

8 

12 

m 

69 

84 

95 

28 

14 


NUMBER OF RAILS AND POSTS REQUIRED FOR 10 RODS OF POST AND RAIL FENCE. 


Length 
of Rail. 

Length of 
Panel. 

No. of Panels. 

No. of Posts. 

Number of Rails for each 10 Rods. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

5 rails high. 

6 rails high. 

7 rails high. 

8 rails 
high. 

10 

8 

20% 

21 

103 

123 

144 

165 

12 

10 

16% 

17 

83 

99 

116 

133 

14 

12 

13% 

14 

69 

84 

95 

109 

16% 

14% 

11% 

12 

57 

69 

81 

93 


RELATIVE VALUE OF CORN AND PORK. 

When corn is at a given price, the equivalent price of pork in 
the dressed hog should be as stated in the following table: 


Corn per Bushel. 
Cents. 

Pork per Pound. 
Cents. 

Corn per Bushel. 
Cents. 

Pork per Pound. 
Cents. 

12% 

15 

1.50 

1.78 

38 

40 

4.52 

4.76 

17 

2. 

42 

5. 

20 

2.48 

45 

5.35 

22 

2.62 

50 

5.95 

25 

2.96 

55 

6.54 

30 

4.57 

60 

7.14 

33 

3.92. 

65 

7.74 

35 

4. 

70 

8.57 




























































PUBLISHER’S NOTICE. 


I desire to place a copy of this work in the hands of every 
family, and if there is no agent through whom it can be pur¬ 
chased, I will send by mail, free of postage, single copies, to 
any address on receipt of the regular subscription price, £3.75. 

I also wish to employ an agent in every county of each 
State to thoroughly canvass every person in the territory 
assigned. The terms are liberal, and the agency to sell this 
work in any county will afford a good living to any man or 
woman who knows how to sell books. Agents will be 
assigned territory in the order of their application, and exclu¬ 
sive rights given. Address 

W. R. MERWIN, M.D., 

Detroit, Mich. 

























































































* 





INDEX 


Abdomen, dropsy of. 110 

Absorbents, therapeutic action of .... 56 

Acacia gum. 32 

Accidents: General remarks on. 192 

suspended animation, drowning.. 192 

artificial respiration. 194 

hanging, charcoal gas. 195 

gases, fire damp, cold. 195 

intoxication, sunstroke. 196 

lightning stroke, starvation. 197 

flesh wounds. 197 

gunshot wounds. 198 

bums and scalds. 199 

dislocations.201 

dislocation of jaw. 202 

sprains. 203 

poisoning. 204 

snake bites.205 

hydrophobia (mad dog bite).206 

bites and stings, spider bites.207 

substances in throat, windpipe, 

nose, ear.207-208 

fits, fainting, giddiness. 209 

stunning, splinters, scratches. 210 

rupture,cautions against accidents 211 

cautions as to fire. 212 

accidents of the water.214 

Acetate of potassa. 32 

Acetate of potash and cream of tartar 46 

Acetic acid. 32 

Aching feet.255 

Acid bath. 18 

Acid, tartaric. 33 

Acne, or flesh worms. 127 

Aconite, therapeutic action of. 56 

Acute bronchitis.85-37 

Acute diseases, symptoms in. 170 

Adulteration in vinegar, to detect.... 369 

Adulteration of tea and coffee. 333 

Affusions, cold. 21 

Ague and fever. 59 

Ague in breast. 152 

Ague, precautions against. 62 

Alcoholic liquors, uses of as stimulants 50 

Alkaline bath.. 18 

Allen’s nerve and bone liniment.. 443 

40 


Almond paste, for the hair. 553 

Aloes, therapeutic properties of. 33 

Alum, medicinal uses of. 33 

Alteratives: Compound fluid extract 

of stillingia. 39 

rhubarb cordial, syrup iodide iron 40 
iodide of potassium,alterative pills 40 

dandelion and mandrake. 41 

blood purifiers. 41 

Ammonia, aqua, stimulant properties 33 

Ammonia, domestic uses of. 402 

Angel’s food (cake). 344 

Aniline dyes. 392 

Animal food, choice of in season.277 

Animal food, excessive use of. 276 

Animals, growth and life of. 604 

reproductive power of. 627 

Anise, infusion of. 27 

Anodyne ointment. 222 

Anodyne pills. 215 

Anti-bilious pills (Lee’s). 217 

Anti-spasmodic tincture.27, 92 

Ants, remedies for.399 

Arabian condition powders.443 

Arrowroot pap.165 

Arnica, for pains, etc. 25 

Arnica liniment.225 

Apricot jam. 365 

Apricots, cultivation of. 429 

Apoplexy, causes and treatment.. 136-138 

cold affusions for. 21 

Apothecaries’ weights and measures.37-38 
Apparent death (see also Accidents).. 172 

Apple butter (Pennsylvania). 358 

Apple cake. 346 

Apple custard. 348 

Apple dumplings.338, 339 

Apple fritters. 300 

Apple jam. 365 

Apple jelly.. 364 

Apple meringue. 349 

Apple pie... 336 

Apple sauce (cider). 358 

Apple tapioca pudding. 341 

Apple wine. 496 

Apples, cultivation of. 427 


















































































634 

Apples, fried. 

Area of continents. 

of oceans and seas. 

Arnica for sprains and bruises. 

Aromatic drops. 

Artificial respiration. 

Artificial skin for burns. 

Asparagus salad. 

Asparagus, to cook. 

Asafetida, medicinal properties of... 

Asthma. 

Astringents. 

Average life of man. 

Average rate of births and deaths. 

Avoirdupois weight. 

Ayers’ cherry pectoral . 

sarsaparilla. 

Babies, see Infants and Children. 

Back, sprain of. 

Baked custard. 

Baked duck. 

Baked eggs. 

Baked maccaroni . 

Baked squash. 

Baked tomatoes. 

Baked whitefish.. 

Bakers’ itch. 

Baking powder, to make. 

Eaking powder biscuit. 

Baldness: French remedy for. 

lotion for. 

pomade for . 

Balm of thousand flowers. 

Banana and apple tart. 


Bandages, how to apply. 37 

Bandoline, for the hair. 556 

Bank checks and drafts, forms for.... 571 

Barbed wire fencing, table for.630 

Barberries, to pickle.372 

Barbers’ itch. 126 

Barbers’ star hair oil. 555 

Barley coffee. 163 

Barley, cultivation of. 416 

Barrels, cider, to cleanse. 494 

to clean and sweeten.511 

Barrel’s Indian liniment.225 

Baths and bathing.17-23 

Baths: Temperature of. 17 

medicated, acid, alkaline. 18 

salt water, sulphur. 18 

spirit vapor. 19 

foot, hip, sponge. 20 

sheet, hot local.21-22 

douche, shower and spray. 22 

sun, electrical. 22 

hot mustard foot. 25 

Bathing, brief rules for. 23 


Balky horses.439 

Bay rum (toilet).554 

Bean soup, to make.302 

Beans, cultivation of. 420 

Bear meat, to cook. 326 

Bear’s oil (imitation). 553 

Bedbugs, to kill.398 

Bed sores.124, 227 

Beds, directions for making. 266 

Bed ticks, to clean.380 

Bedding, choice of. 47 

Beef and pork, to pickle. 487 

Beef cattle, feeding of. 451 

Beef, cold, to utilize. 307 

Beef extract, beef tea. 166 

Beef steak,broiled, smothered in onions 307 
Beer, Home Brewed: Malt and hop... 498 

white spruce, spring.498 

Wahoo, corn, ginger, pipsissewa .. 499 

root. 500 

Bees: General remarks on. 481 

the heads of the family.481 

the Italian variety.4S2 

feed for bees. 483 

when to take honey, hiving.484 

enemies of, water for.485 

to destroy the bee moth.485 

Beeswax, to make.488 

Belly-band, how to apply.176-177 

Berries, to can.359 

Beverages, home brewed.498 

plain.. 501 

Bicarbonate of soda. 37 

Bilious colic, compound powder for... 30 

fomentation for. 24 

symptoms and treatment of .. .105-107 
Bilious fever, see Fever. 

Bills of exchange, forms for.571 

Bills of exchange, notes, etc.567-570 

Birds, canaries, care of. 274 

Births, average rate of, to deaths.602 

Biscuit, Breakfast and Tea Cakes: 

Buttermilk biscuit, soda biscuit... 293 
baking powder biscuit, tea biscuit 294 

cream biscuit, Dixie biscuit.294 

Graham biscuit,Indian light biscuit 294 

strawberry short-cake.— 294 

sweet potato short-cake.295 

southern corn bread, Johnny cake 295 

bread cakes, cinnamon rolls.295 

flannel cakes, Graham gems.296 

hoe cakes,tomato and potato cakes 296 

Bites and stings of insects. 207 

Bites of mad dogs.206 

Bitters: Orange wine of quinine.220 

compound gentian, fever and ague 
tonic, quinine mixture for children 220 


INDEX. 

314 
601 
602 
204 

238 
194 

200 , 201 
316 

315 
33 

90-92 
48 
603 
602 
37, 599 
228 

239 

203 
347 
. 321 
332 
315 
315 
313 
328 
127 
513 
294 
550 

549 

550 
564 
337 






































































































INDEX. 


Black ants, to drive away.399 

Black currant preserves.356 

Blackberry jam. 366 

Blackberry cordial. 500 

Blackberry wine and brandy. 496 

Black eye.230, 248 

Bladder, gravel or stone in. 135 

spasm in.136 

Blanc mange, corn starch. 348 

Bleeding, astringents for.36, 48 

from the lungs.89, 90 

from lungs, in consumption. 82 

from the nose.258 

from the stomach. 107 

from wounds. 197 

oil of erigeron for. 36 

styptics for.31, 32 

Bleeding in cattle.459 

Blistered feet. 256 

Bloat in cattle from green feed. 456 

Bloating, in sheep.470 

Blood, diseases of.114-131 

Blues, The. 146 

Board measure.595 

Board, table for computing by days.. 630 

Boats, to make water-proof.530 

Body vermin, to destroy. 399 

Boiled cider pie. 335 

Boiled codfish.328 

Boiled custard.348 

Boiled dinner.315 

Boiled lobster.331 

Boiled tongue. .. 310 

Boiling chickens...319 

Boiling meats, directions for.305 

Boils, treatment of.121, 122 

Bond, form for.573 

Bone spavin.442 

Boned turkey. 321 

Bones, to dissolve for fertilizer.431 

Book muslin, to wash.375 

Borax, medicinal uses of.. . 33 

Boston brown bread.292 

Bots in horses.4|0 

Bottles, cement for.394 

Bottles, to clean.511 

JBowels, functions of. 41 

bathing in diseases of. 47 

diseases of, astringents for. 48 

Boxes, capacity of.601 

Boys, remarks on at age of puberty... 191 

Bragget or metheglin, to make. 498 

Brain, inflammation of.138 

unfavorable symptoms in. 170 

Bran tea, for sick. 164 

Brandreth’s pills.217 

Brandy: Blackberry, cherry.496 


635 


Brass, to clean .405 

Bread cakes.295 

Bread crumb omelet.332 

Bread fried cakes.300 

Bread pudding. 340 

Bread, temperature of ovens to bake. 291 
Bread Making: Common wheat bread 290 

quickly made bread.291 

salt rising bread, brown bread.... 291 

Boston brown, Graham bread.292 

German bread, corn bread.292 

Indian loaf, Virginia corn bread... 292 

magnum bonum corn cake.293 

southern corn bread, Johnny cake 295 
Bread, see Biscuit, Breakfast and Tea 
Cakes. 

Breakfast, preparing and serving.281 

Breasts, ague and cake in. 152 

Brick in walls, table for measuring... 516 

Brick, qualities of, to stain red. 517 

Bright’s disease of kidneys.131 

treatment of. 132 

Broiled: Beefsteak, ham.307 

mackerel. 328 

oysters. 330 

squirrel. 324 

chickens. 319 

game. 323 

Broiling meats, directions for. 305 

Broken legs, in horses. 441 

Bronchial troches (Brown’s).228 

Bronchitis, acute.85-87 

chronic.87-89 

Bronchocele (goitre). 100 

Bronzing for iron and wood. 528 

Brook trout, to cook.328 

Broom corn, cultivation of.420 

Broths for sick, see Cookery for the Sick. 

Brown bread. 291 

Bruises, arnica for. 204 

fomentation for. 230 

in dogs.475 

Buchu leaves, infusion. 27 

Buckwheat cakes. 297 

Buckwheat, cultivation of.,.417 

Bugs, to destroy. 400 

Bugs on cucumber plants. 489 

Burns and scalds, remedies for —199-201 

precautions in case of. 201 

Burying the Dead: Precautions as to 

premature burial.172, 605 

different modes of sepulture.906 

etiquette of funerals.607 

undertaker, duties of. 608 

military and Masonic funerals.... 610 

lay funerals. 612 

new method of embalming.613 







































































































INDEX. 


636 

Bunions, treatment of.253 

Burning clothing.213 

Burning feet, to relieve.255 

Burns on dogs.475 

Business Forms in Common Use: Prom- 
isory notes, due bills, bank checks 
and drafts, receipts, orders, letters 

of credit, lease, bond, etc.570-573 

Business law in brief.566 

Business rules, thirty-eight of them.. 574 

Butter oil (cathartic) for children. 33 

Butter, to pack.512 

Butter, see Dairy . 

Butternut extract. 218 

Burying alive, precautions against. 172, 605 

Cabbage to pickle. 370 

Caked breasts. 152 

Cakes and Cookies: General remarks 341 

wedding cake.341 

tinting and frosting for cake.342 

pork cake, raisin cake. 343 

perfection cake, hickory nut cake 343 
sunshine cake, ice cream cake.... 343 

angels’ food, cream puffs. 344 

lemon puffs, mountain cake.345 

white sponge, marble and jelly 

cakes. 345 

fig cake, orange cake.346 

apple cake, doughnuts. 346 

hickory nut cookies.346 

Calf’s foot jelly. 365 

for convalescents. 169 

Calcined magnesia (cosmetic). 559 

Calicoes, colored, to wash. 376 

Calicoes, to prevent fading. 376 

California fruit nectar.500 

Calves, see Cattle. 

Camomile flowers (medicinal). 35 

Camp method of cooking fowls. 320 

Camphor and cayenne liniment.226 

Camphor ice. 554 

Camphor,medicinal properties of. 33,51,52 

spirits of, how made .51, 237 

for after-swelling in mumps. 69 

Camphorated oil liniment.226 

Canary birds, care of.274 

Cancer, pathology of. 116 

Dr. Merwin’s treatment of.116, 118 

Candied citron.361 

Candy, to make.514, 515 

Canker, in dogs.475 

Canker rash, see Fever. 

Canker sore mouth, wash for.236 

Canning fruits, etc., wax for. 361 

Canning fruits, s ee Fruits, to can. 
Canning vegetables, see Vegetables. 
Capsicum, tincture of. 28 


Capsicum (cayenne pepper). 3& 

uses of as stimulant. 51 

Capsicum, lobelia and, compound tinct 29 

Carbolic acid, as disinfectant.231 

for whooping cough. 186 

gargle.229 

to destroy insects.400 

Carbolic acid compound ointment.... 221 

Carbolic acid salve. 221 

Carbuncle, treatment of.122, 123 

Care and diseases of children.174-192 

Care of the sick.155-174 

Carlisle tables of mortality.603 

Carpenters’ and joiners’ work. 522 

Carpets, care of.381-383 

salt to keep moths from. 403 

Casks, to clean and sweeten.511 

to prepare for cider.494 

Castor oil (cathartic). 34 

Castor oil (aromatic).218 

Castor oil custard, for children. 34 

Castor oil, to disguise the taste of .... 37 

Castration of rams. 469 

Catarrh, chronic.93-95 

nasal. . 92, 93 

acacia gum for. 32 

Catarrh in Animals: Dogs.474 

fowls. 478 

sheep.471 

Cathartics, therapeutic action of. 41 

butter oil. 33 

castor oil. 34 

castor oil custard, for children.... 34 

citrate of magnesia. 85 

compound powder of jalap. 30 

Cathartic pills.215 

injections.42, 43 

syrup. 219 

Cats catching chickens.. 478 

Catnip infusion. 26 

Catsup, tomato, Chili. 373 

Cattle barking trees, to prevent.488 

Cattle: Treatment and diseases of.... 448 

eye water for.443 

beef, feeding of. 451 

bleeding in. 459 

bloat in, from green feed. 456 

calves, heifer, value of.452 

calves, to teach to drink. 452 

choking of. 451 

cows, feeding milch.450 

cows, milch, holding up milk.452 

cows, garget in.457 

cows, for fattening and dairy.449 

distemper in. 457 

inflammation of brain in. 456 

ointment for wounds in.460, 461 

































































































INDEX. 


637 


Cattle, pulse of.451 

purging medicine for.457 

red water in. 457 

scouring in. 456 

sores and bruises in. 460 

to kill lice on. 457 

wounds in. 459 

Cattle, to find the weight of .491 

Cauliflower, method of cooking.314 

to pickle.370 

Cauterization, in mad dog bite. 206 

in snake bites. 205 

Cautions against accidents.211-214 

Cayenne pepper. 33 

Cayenne pepper, see also Capsicum. 

Celery cream soup. 302 

Celery, to pickle. 371 

Cement for cisterns. 519 

Cements for domestic use. 394-396 

Cerate, simple. 34 

Chafing in infants.179, 180 

in adults, lotion for. 227 

Chalkl(antacid). 34 

Champagne, grape. 497 

Chapped hands, ointment for. 223 

wash for.. 227 

Chaps and sunburns, lotion for. 560 

Charcoal (antacid). 34 

Charcoal, use of as a purifier. 404 

Charlotte russe. 348 

Check-rein for horses. 447 

Cheese and egg toast.333 

•Cherries, to can. 360 

Cherry bounce. 497 

Cherry pectoral (Ayer’s). 228 

Cherry pie. 335 

Cherry wine.501 

Cherry wine and brandy.496 

Cherry preserves.356 

Chest, dropsy of. 110 

Chicken-pox (medical) . 189 

Chicken broth. 167 

Chicken cheese, croquettes, pie.320 

Chicken, fried.320 

Chicken salad.316 

Chicken soup.302 

Chickens, boiling and broiling.. 319 

to roast, dressing for. 319 

Chickens, cats catching.478 

Chickens, see also Fowls and Poultry. 

Chilblain liniment.225, 254 

Chilblains: Petroleum for.254 

to cure. 254 

white turnip for.254 

Child nursing, difficulties of. 151 


Childbirth, unfavorable symptoms in. 170 
Children, see also Infants. 


Children: Health precautions. 180 

learning to walk. 182 

quinine mixture for. 220 

signs of disease in.180, 181 

time for weaning. 179 

nursing of. 178 

rules for dressing young infants.. 177 

law of natural selection with. 175 

remarks upon treatment of.174,175,191 

Children, diseases of:.181-191 

signs of disease in, teething. 181 

summer complaint (cholera in¬ 
fantum). 182 

croup. .183,184 

whooping cough. 185 

inflammation of gums, thrush ... 187 

worms. 187 

sore eyes, swelling of breasts.188 

snuffles, wind colic. 188 

constipation, milk scall. 189 

chicken-pox, convulsions, or fits.. 189 

flatulency, squinting. . 190 

Chili catsup.373 

Chimney, fire in, to extinguish.214 

Chlorate potassa gargle.229 

Chloride of lime, medicinal value. 35 

Chloroform liniments.224 

Chocolate, to make. 334 

Choking, of persons. 207 

of cattle.451 

Cholagogue, Osgood’s India. 238 

Cholera, compound life drops for. 51 

capsicum for. 51 

remedies for.232, 233 

Cholera infantum.182, 183 

compound syrup for. 29 

Cholera morbus, compound tinct. for. 29 

Chow chow.372 

Chowder, clam. 330 

Christmas dinner. 286 

Chronic bronchitis.87-89 

Chronic diarrhea cordial.233 

Chronic diseases, symptoms in. 170 

Churning, see Dairy. 

Cider: Manufacture of.492 

to make fermented cider. 493 

to cleanse cider barrels.494 

to prepare casks for cider.494 

to preserve cider and stop fer¬ 
mentation in.494, 495 

racking off, to exclude air from... 495 

mulled cider.497 

Cider apple sauce.358 

Cider vinegar. 368 

Cinchona (Peruvian bark). 35 

Cinnamon rolls.295 

Cistern water, to cool.501 







































































































638 


INDEX. 


Cisterns, remarks on. 518 

capacity of (table). 519 

cement for. 519 

Citrate of magnesia. 35 

Citron, candied. 361 

Clam chowder.330 

soup.303 

Clams, scalloped. 331 

Cleaning cloths and feathers.378-380 

Cleanliness in the kitchen.288 

Cleansing the teeth.250 

Cloth, to make water-proof. 620 

Cloths, cleaning and restoring.378-380 

to revive the color of black.378 

to prevent burning.214 

to whiten. 376 

Clothing, burning, to extinguish.213 

Cockroaches, remedies for.397, 398 

Cocoanut dessert.338 

pie.336 

pudding.339 

Codfish, to cook.328 

Cod liver oil. 35 

to disguise the taste of. 37 

Coffee, to make.333, 334 

Coins, denominations of.586, 587 

Cold affusions. 21 

Cold and heat, effects of.613 

Cold or cough, drink for.227 

Cold feet, to relieve. 255 

Cold, suspended animation from. 195 

Cold slaw. 317 

Cold water for burns.200 

Colds, flaxseed and liquorice drink.... 227 

spirit vapor bath for. 19 

treatment of. 89 

Colic, bilious.105-107 

hop fomentation for. 24 

Colic, in dogs. 474 

in horses. 445 

Collinsonia, properties of. 53 

Collodion for burns or wounds.201 

Collodion styptics. 32 

Cologne water (cosmetic). 554 

Coloring, see Dyeing and Coloring . 

Combs and brushes, to clean.566 

Commercial Law and Business Forms: 

business law in brief. 566 

notes and drafts. .567, 570 

business forms in common use... 570 

Complexion, lotion for. 560 

Complexion paste. 559 

Complexion soap.560 

Composition powder. 30 

Compound cathartic pill. 21 6 

Compound emetic. 28 


Compound fluid extract of stillingia.. 39 


Compound gentian bitters. 220 

Compound infusion of parsley. 31 

Compound life drops. 59 

Compound mandrake pill.216 

Compound mandrake and mercury pill 217 

Compound mustard liniment. 225 

Compound podophyllin pill. 29 

Compound pomade for the hair.553 

Compound powder of jalap. 30 

Compound tar plaster. 26 

Compound tinct. lobelia and capsicum 29 
Compound tinct. Virginia snake root. 27 
Compound syrup rhubarb and potassa 29 

Concrete for floors and walks.518 

Condition food (Thorley’s) for horses. 446 

Condition powders for horses.443 

Confectioners: Molasses candy.514 

white candy.514 

candy without sugar, ice cream... 515 

iced fruit.515 

Confectioners’ icing for cake.342 

Congestions, spirit vapor bath for. 19 

Congestive fever, see Fever. 

Constipation, symptoms and treat¬ 
ment of. 102 

in children. 189 

pill for. 215' 

remedy for. 219' 

in dogs. 475' 

Consumption, symptoms and treat¬ 
ment of.78-84 

cod liver oil for. 35 

Convalescence, remarks on.168-169 

Convalescents,see Cookery for the Sick. 

Convulsions, remedies for...27-29 

in children. 189 

Cookery for the Sick: Remarks on.... 161 

herb teas, fever drinks. 162 

flaxseed tea, egg wine. 163 

rice and barley water, corn coffee, 163 

barley coffee, oatmeal coffee. 163 

toast water, bran tea. 164 

malt gruel, rice gruel. 164 

farina gruel, tapioca. 164 

panada, gum arabic. 164 

slippery elm, marshmallow.165 

plain gruel, arrowroot pap. 165 

wine jelly, rice jelly, Mine whey... 165 

beef tea, quick beef tea. 165 

extract of beef, mutton tea. 166 

mutton broth, veal tea. 167 

chicken broth, oyster broth. 167 

nourishment by injection. 167 

gruel for convalescents.168 

oatmeal gruel, egg and milk. 169 

wine gruel, calves’ feet jelly. 169 

Cooking meats generally.307-311 



































































































INDEX, 


639 


Coon, to roast.325 

Cooks’ time table. 289 

Copying ink. 619 

Cordwood, to measure. 598 

Cordial, cough.44, 81 

infant. 55 

Corks, cement for. 394 

Corn and pork, relative value of (table) 631 

Corn beer.499 

Corn bread.292 

Corn coif ee. 163 

Com muffins.299 

Corn pudding.339 

Corn starch blanc mange.348 

Cornstarch pudding.338 

Corn crib, to make.490 

Corn, cultivation of. 413 

in bulk, to measure.490 

methods of cooking.313 

selection of, for seed.414 

stalks of, for fodder.415 

to can.360 

Corns, treatment of.252, 253 

Cosmetics, see Toilet. 

Cottage pudding.339 

Cotton, cultivation of.421 

Cotton goods, to clean.378 

Cough powders for horses.444 

Cough Remedies: Drink for cough ... 227 

Ayer’s cherry pectoral. 228 

bronchial troches,pulmonic wafers 228 

cough cordial.44, 81 

cough inhalent. 80 

cough drops. 44 

cough tincture.45, 80 

syrups for consumptives. 83 

Cows, see Cattle. 

Crab apple jelly.363 

Cracked hoof, in sheep.4?'2 

Cracked nipples. 179 

Cracker pudding.339 

Cramp in the stomach. 107 

tincture for. 28 

Cranberry jelly.363 

Cranberry sauce. 349 

Crape, to restore. . 380 

Cream biscuit.294 

Cream ointment.221 

Cream puffs. — 344 

Creams and Custards: Snow cream... 347 

whip cream, floating island.347 

cream custard, baked custard.347 

boiled custard, apple custard,. 348 

French custard, tapioca cream ... 348 

Charlotte russe. 348 

corn starch blanc mange.348 

orange snow, moonshine. 349 


Creams and Custards: Apple meringue 349 


peaches with rice. 349 

Crib-biting in horses. 447 

Crockery, cement for.394 

Crops, remarks on rotation of.409, 410 

Croquettes (fritters). 300 

chicken. 320 

lobster. 331 

Croup, symptoms and treatment.. 183-185 

compound emetic for. 28 

unfavorable symptoms in. 170 

Cucumber plants, bugs on. 489 

Cucumbers, to pickle.370 

Currant jam, currant jelly. 365 

Currant wine. 497 

Currants, spiced. 362 

Custards, see Creams and Custards. 

Cut flowers, to keep fresh.273 

Daily meals and special occasions.281-287 

Dairy, The: Remarks on. 453 

butter, to make.455 

churning, remarks on.454 

cream, temperature for raising... 627 

milk, constituents of.453 

milk, to keep sweet. 455 

Dancing, social. 271 

Dandelion and mandrake alterative... 41 

Dandelions, etc., to destroy.488 

Dandelion decoction. 27 

Day and Martin’s shoe blacking.529 

Dead, disposal of.605-613 

Deafness, temporary, cure for. 230 

Death, evidences of. 172 

decomposition the only certain... 605 

indications of approaching. 172 

premature burial, caution.172, 605 

real and apparent.. 172 

Death-rate, Europe and United States 603 

Deaths, average rate of to births. 602 

Decayed teeth, foul odor from.251 

Deer skins, to tan, Indian way.530 

Deer and woodchuck skins, to tan.... 531 

Deodorizing sick rooms. 173 

Deportment, essay on. 533 

Diabetes,symptoms and treatment. 132,133 

Diarrhea and cholera remedies.232, 233 

Diarrhea, causes and treatment.. .104,105 

astringents for. 48 

compound syrup for. 29 

in consumption. 82 

sitz bath for. 47 

Diarrhoea in Animals: Dogs.475 

fowls. 478 

or purging, in sheep.469, 473 

Diaphoretic powder. 30 

Diet, remarks relating to .41, 276 

Dietetics and health, remarks on. 350 






































































































INDEX. 


640 


Digestibility of foods (table). 355 

Dining room, the.269 

Dinner, preparing and serving.282 

boiled. 315 

Christmas. 286 

New Year’s. 287 

special.283 

Thanksgiving.285 

Dinners, ratio of supplies for.287 

Diphtheria,symptoms and treatment, 66-68 

gargle for. 229 

Directing letters, care in. 547 

Disease germs, infection of rooms by. 156 

Disease, signs of in children.180, 181 

unfavorable symptoms in.170-171 

Diseases of children.182-192 

see also Children. 

Disinfectants: Copperas, dry earth... 231 

manganese, carbolic acid. 231 

New York disinfecting fluid.232 

onions as disinfectant.232 

for sick rooms. 173 

Disinfecting, in case of small-pox. 72 

Dislocations: Of the joints. 201 

of the jaw. 202 

Disposal of the dead.605-613 

see Burying the Dead. 

Distemper, in cattle.457 

in dogs. 474 

Diuretics: Sweet spirits of nitre. 45 

acetate of potash and cream tartar 46 

external applications. 46 

vegetable—marshmallow. 45 

mullein leaves, pumpkin seeds.... 45 

watermelon seeds. 45 

Dixie biscuit. 294 

corn dodgers.298 

waffles.299 

Docks, etc., to destroy.488 

Dogs, general remarks on. 473 

bruises and burns on. 475 

canker of the mouth in. 475 

catarrh, colic, distemper. 474 

constipation and diarrhea in. 475 

fleas and lice on. 475 

mange and sore eyes in. 475 

symptoms of rabies in. 475 , 476 

worms and tape-worm in. 474 

to wash white dogs. 475 

Domestic animals.434-476 

Domestic economy and the house- 

hol d.263-406 

Door plates, to clean. 401 

Douche bath. 22 

Doughnuts, to make. 346 

Dover’s powder. 237 

Drafts and notes.567-570 


Dressing for poultry in roasting.319 

Dressing the baby. 176 

Dried fruit, to keep from worms.361 

Drinking, caution in, when heated ... 237 

Drinks, generally.492-512 

for sick, see Cookery for Sick. 

Drops, aromatic.^.238 

neuralgia. 143 

Dropsy, symptoms and treatment, 110, 111 

acetate of potassa for. 32 

compound infusion of parsley for, 31 
Drowning, method of restoration.. 192-194 
Druggists, colors for window jars .... 621 

Drunkenness, remedies for.257, 258 

Russian cure for.257 

Duck, baked and roasted.321, 324 

Dumb ague. 62 

Dyeing and Coloring: General direc¬ 
tions.388 

rules for, dyes in common use.... 389 
various colors, proportions of. .389-392 

aniline dyes, proportions of.392 

Dyes, hair, see Toilet. 

Dysentery, compound syrup for. 29 

simple remedy for.233 

sitz bath for. 47 

Dyspepsia, causes and treatment of.. 101 
Ear: Earache, inflammation of ear... 230 

temporary deafness.230 

substances in.208 

insects in the ear. 231 

Ears, piercing the.565 

Earthenware, new, treatment of.404 

Eating, remarks on. 41 

Eau de cologne (cosmetic). 561 

Eclectic emetic powder.44, 228 

Eels, to cook.328 

Egg and cheese toast.333 

Egg and milk for convalescents. 169 

Egg omelet. 332 

Egg stains, to remove. 386 

Egg wine . 163 

Egg plant, fried.314 

Eggs, ham and.307, 308 

to cook.. 332 

to distinguish sound. 513 

to preserve.512, 513 

Electro-magnetism. 35 

Electrical baths. 22 

Embalming, new method of.613 

Embrocation for horses.443 

Emetics: Emetic, compound. 28 

warm water, salt and water . 43 

mustard, ipecac, emetic injection, 43 

eclectic emetic powder. 44 

for children. 44 

in case of poisoning.204 


































































































INDEX. 


Emetics: Ipecac, eclectic powder.228 

simple emetic. 228 

English liniment. 225 

English plum pudding.340 

Engravings, varnish for. 401 

Enlarged tonsils .90, 100 

Epilepsy, cold affusions for. 21 

Epizootic in horses. 441 

Eruptive fevers. 70 

Erysipelas,symptoms and treatment, 76,78 
Escalloped, see Scalloped. 

Essences, to make, doses of. 28 

Etiquette . 533 

condensed laws of.538 

of introductions.536 

of calls. 537 

of funerals. 607 

of the table. 535 

Ewes, see Sheep. 

Excavations, measurement of.595 

Excessive menstruation. 150 

Expectorants: Compound emetic .... 28 
cough mixture, cough drops... .44, 45 
stillingia compound, cough cordial 44 

Extract of beef. 166 

Eyes, The: Rules for preservation of. 246 

spectacles, when needed.246 

sore and inflamed eyes, remedies, 247 
eye wash, wash for weak eyes.... 248 
to allay temporary irritation of... 248 

specks and substances in.248 

stye in eye, black eye.248 

Eyelashes, to make long . 565 

Eye salve (Pettit’s). 223 

Eye water for horses and cattle.443 

Face ointment.557 

Fainting, ammonia for. 33 

cold affusions for. 21 

Fainting and hysteria.209 

False croup, see Croup. 

False cuticle for burns. .200 

Family salve. 222 

Family supplies and choice of food, 275-280 

Farina gruel. 164 

Farm, garden and orchard.407-434 

Farming, tables relating to.623-631 

Feather beds, to cleanse. 380 

Feathers, cleaning and restoring.. .378-380 

Feed for bees.483 

Feet, The: Remarks on.252 

corns, bunions, chilblains.252-254 

to cure ingrowing toe nail.254, 255 

burning feet, cold feet. 255 

swelled feet and ankles.255 

aching feet, blistered feet.255, 256 

itching from frost bites. 256 


offensive perspiration from feet... 256 


641 


Felon, treatment of. .120, 121 

Female complaints.147-154 

Fences, paint for.490 

Fencing, tables showing amount of 
barbed wire, rails and posts re¬ 
quired for given spaces. 631 

Fermented cider, to make. 493 

Fermentation, to stop, in cider... .494, 495 

Fertilizers, various kinds.429-433 

Fever: General symptoms of. 59 

diaphoretic powder for. 30 

fever and ague, symptoms and 

treatment.59-62 

bilious, symptoms and treatment. 62 

typhoid, symptoms and treatment 64 
congestive, symptoms and treat¬ 
ment .65, 66 

value of lemons in. 66 

unfavorable symptoms in. 170 

hay fever. 69 

scarlet (scarlet fever, scarlatina).73-75 

drinks suitable for patients.35,162 

Fever and ague pills. 216 

Fever and ague tonic. 220 

Fig cake. 346 

Figs, to preserve. 358 

to preserve dry, for market.358 

Finger rings, to remove.622 

Fire, cautious as to. 212 

Fire-Damp. 195 

Fire in chimney, to extinguish.214 

Fire-proof paint for roofs, etc. 525 

Fire screens, to make. 402 

Fish compost as fertilizer.432 

Fish, selection and cooking of.327-331 

Fits.209 

Flannel cakes. 296 

Flannel, to wash. 376 

when yellow, to wash.377 

Flatirons, to remove rust, etc., from.. 405 

Flatulency in children. 190 

Flavoring extracts for soups, etc.373 

Flavoring syrups, to make. 502, 503 

Flaxseed tea. 163 

Fleas and lice, remedies for.399 

on dogs.475 

Flesh worms (acne). 127 

Flesh wounds.197, 198 

Flies, remedies for.398, 399 

to drive from horses. 398 

Floating island. 347 

Floors, ink spots on, to remove...._405 

to remove grease spots from. 404 

wax for polishing. 401 

Florida water (cologne).554 

Flowers for home adornment. 272 


Fodder, value of different kinds.. ..418-420 





























































































642 


INDEX, 


Fomentations: Hop. 24 

mustard, elm, poppy heads. 25 

for sprain. 203 

oak bark, stimulating fomentation, 229 
for black eyes, bruises, sprains.,.. 230 

Food, properties of. 280 

adapted to consumptives. 80 

in season for all months.278-280 

Foods, digestibility of (table)-- 855 

Foot bath. 20 

Foot rot, in sheep.471, 472 

Foreign substances in throat. 207 

in windpipe, nose, ear.208 

Founder, in horses. 446 

Fowls, diseases of: The pip, vertigo... 477 
catarrh, diarrhea, wounds,lice.... 478 
Fowls, breeds of, and peculiarities.... 476 

camp method of cooking.820 

management of generally. 479 

Fragrant odor for rooms.565 

Frangipanni.561 

Freckles. 562 

Freezing, without ice. 602 

French custard.348 

French table mustard. 873 

Fried apples. 814 

Fried chicken.320 

Fried egg plant, parsnips. 314 

Fried milk toast.332 

Fried oysters.829 

Fried oyster plant. 315 

Fried potatoes. 312 

Fritters: Croquettes, raspberry, apple 300 

hominy, green corn.300 

Frizzled codfish.328 

Frogs, to cook. 327 

Frostbites. 196 

Frost sores, ointment for. 223 

Frosting for cake. 342 

Frozen parts, treatment of. 196 

Fruit, spiced. 362 

Fruit trees, treatment of.488 

Fruits to can: General remarks on.... 359 

cooking and sugaring (table). 359 

canning berries. 359 

peaches, pears, pineapples, plums. 360 

Frying meats, directions for. 306 

Fuel, value of wood for (table). 627 

Funerals, see Burying the Dead. 

Furniture, care of.384, 385 

Furs, care of.380, 381 

Fusil oil in alcohol, to detect. 622 

Gad fly, in sheep. 471 

Galls, galled spots, see Horses. 

Game: Choice and cooking of.322-327 

to lard, to broil, to roast. 323 

cooking pigeons, roast duck.324 


Game: Broiled squirrel, roast’possum 323' 


roast ’coon.325 

bear meat, venison, woodcock ... 326 

pot pie, frogs. 327 

Games in the house.271 

Garden seed, proportion of per acre 

(tables).425, 625’ 

Garden seeds, to test.489 

Garden, the kitchen.423-425 

Garden walks, weeds in, to destroy..488,489 

Garget, in cows..457 

Gargles: For sore throat.229 

quinsy, diphtheria.229 

carbolic acid gargle, sage tea.229 

honey, chlorate potassa. 229 1 

Gas, apparent death from. 195 

Gentian bitters (compound). 220 

German black salve.222 

German bread.292 

Giddiness.209 

Ginger beer, ginger beverage.499, 500 

Girls, remarks on, as to critical period 

of life. 148 

Glass jars for preserving. 356 

Glass, mucilage for. 395 > 

methods of cutting.526, 527' 

Glue, how to use. .527 

liquid, to make.395 

Glycerine cement, glycerine paste.... 395 

Goitre (big-neck). 100> 

Golden Seal (hydrastis), properties of. 53 
Gonorrhoea and Gleet, remedies for.. 234 

Goose, roast. 321 

Gooseberry jam. 365 

Gout and rheumatic pills.217' 

Government land law.587-589 

Gold coins of United States. 587 

Graham bread, gems, biscuit . .292, 294, 296 

Graham’s neuralgic liniment. 225- 

Grain in bin, to measure. 491 

Grain measure. 600' 

Grain, grinding and product of. 626 

amount of seed per acre (table)... 624 

Grape champagne. 497' 

Grape jam. 366 

Grape jelly.363 

Grape pie.336 

Grape preserves.-.356 

Grapes, cultivation of.429 

Gravel, in persons.134 

in horses.444 

Gravel roofing.517 

Gray hair, to restore.549 

Great American lakes.602 

Green corn cakes.298 

Green corn fritters.300 

Green mountain salve.222 

































































































INDEX. 


643 


Grease-heel in horses. 441 

Grease spots on kitchen floors.404 

Griddle cakes: Wheat flour cakes.296 

buckwheat cakes. 297 

green corn cakes. 298 

Dixie corn dodgers, hominy cakes, 298 
rice gem cakes, Kentucky cakes.. 298 
Grocers, see Merchants and Grocers. 

Growth and life of animals.604 

Gruels, see Cookery for the Sick. 

Guano, home-made.431 

Gumbo soup.303 

Gum water starch gloss.377 

Gumming in fruit trees, to stop.488 

Gunpowder bums, glycerine for.201 

Guns, to keep from rusting.622 

Gunshot wounds.198, 199 

Hair, attention to.547 

Hair brushes and combs, to clean. 566 

Hair oils, washes, lotions, tonics, stim¬ 
ulants, dressings, dyes, coloring, 
gray hair, see Toliet. 

Halter Pulling in horses.447 

Ham and eggs, ham boiled, roast.307 

Ham toast.332 

Hams, smoking, pickling, and pre¬ 
serving.486, 487 

Hamburg tea. 238 

Handles, cement for fastening. 394 

Hanging, to restore from apparent 

death from. 195 

Hard water, to cleanse.375 

Harlem oil, or Welsh medicine.224 

Harness, care of, oil, lustre, blacking 

and waterproofing for.528-530 

Haunch of venison.326 

Hay fever, treatment for. 69 

Hay, relative value of grasses.418-420 

measurement and value of (table), 626 

Head, dropsy of. 110 

Headache, nervous. 139 

external remedy for. 140 

from sour stomach. 141 

sick headache.140, 141 

Health, general conditions relating to. 10 

temperament as related to. 13 

as affected by occupation. 11 

Health maxims.259 

Healing ointment. 220 

Heart disease, symptoms of.243, 244 

caution as to excitement.244 

palpitation of heart.245 

dropsy of heart. 110 

Heartburn.34, 108 

Heart, roasted (cooking).308 

Heaves, in horses.445 

Hemorrhage, astringents for. 48 


Hemp rope, strength of (table).614 

Hens eating their eggs. 478 

Hens, to make lay. 479 

Herb teas, for the sick.162 

Herbs, gathering and preserving.402 

Hiccough. 145 

Hickory nut cake.343 

Hickory nut cookies. 346 

Hints'on letter-writing.541 

Hip or sitz bath. 20 

Hives, in children. 130 

Hiving bees. 485 

Hoarseness, remedies for. 83 

Hoe cakes.296 

Hog cholera.463 

Hogs, see Swine. 

Home brewed beverages..498 

Hominy. 313 

Hominy cakes.298 

Hominy croquettes. 300 

Honey, when to take from bees.484 

Hop yeast. 393 

Hop fomentation. 24 

for pneumonia. 84 

Horses and cattle, pulse of.451 

Horses, rearing and treatment of. .435-439 

baulky. 439 

check-rein for, taming of_ 447, 448 

to teach pacing.447 

tricks of jockeys. 439 

to judge the age of.438 

to protect from flies. 393 

to restore hair on galled spots.444 


Horses, diseases and treatment: Bots, 449 
broken legs, scratches, grease heel 441 
sweeny, epizootic, tender hoofs... 441 
staggers, strains and swellings.... 440 

spavin, bone spavin, ringbone.442 

sore breasts, splint. 440 

fistula and poll evil. 439 

colic, heaves. 445 

founder, galls. 446 

gravel, lampas, snake bites. 444 

halter pulling, crib biting.447 

impaired condition.444 

kicking in stall. 447 

wounds. 449 

Horses, medicines for: Cough powders 444 
liniments, ointments, embroca¬ 
tions.440, 443, 444, 445 

condition food and powders.. .443, 446 

physicing.441, 446 

Hospitality of home. 269 

Hot-bed frames, varnish for. 401 

Hot fomentations and poultices. 24 

Hot mustard foot bath. 25 

Hot nights, to keep cool during. 16 
































































































644 


INDEX. 


Home and its surroundings. 263 

House plants.272 

Household, providing for.275 

Housekeepers, practical suggestions to 403 
Housekeepers’ weights and measures. 289 
Housewife, executive duties of... .275, 276 
Hydrastis (golden seal), properties of, 53 

Hydrophobia (mad dog bite).206, 207 

symptoms of, in dogs.475, 476 

Hypertrophy, or enlargement of heart 244 

Hypochondriasis (the blues).146 

Hysteria.1209 

cold affusions for. 21 

ammonia for. . 33 

Ice, to make.501, 502 

strength of. 614 

Ice cream cake.343 

Ice cream, to make.515 

Ice cream, to freeze without ice. 502 

Ice water, caution in drinking. 237 

to relieve distress from. 237 

Iced fruits. 516 

Iceland moss decoction. 27 

Imitation liquors. 506 

Immediate relief from pain.227 

Impaired condition in horses .444 

In continuance of urine in old people.. 136 

Indelible ink. 619 

India rubber cuticle to prevent pitting 

in small-pox. 72 

Indian light biscuit .294 

Indian loaf (corn bread).292 

Indian (boiled) pudding.339 

Indian vegetable pills (Wright’s).217 

Indications of approaching death.172 

Ingrowing toe nail, to remove......... 254 

certain cure for.255 

Infant cordial. 55 

Infants, cathartics for. 180 

chafing of.179, 180 

health precautions regarding. 180 

indications of disease in.180, 181 

management of. 175 

nursing and cure of.178, 179 

see also Children „ 

Inflammations: Of the brain. 138 

of the ear.....230 

of the eyes.247, 248 

of gums. 187 

local applications for. 47 

of lungs, fomentations for. 24 

spirit vapor bath for. 19 


of lungs and kidneys in sheep, 469, 470 
Inflammatory rheumatism, see Rheu¬ 
matism. 

Inflammatory sore throat, see Quinsy. 
Influenza, treatment of .95, 96 


Influenza in sheep.470 

Infusions: Catnip, pennyroyal, buchu 
leaves, dandelion, Iceland moss, 

anise.26, 27 

Inhalents: For asthma. 91 

for catarrh. 94 

in consumption.82, 83 

for quinsy. 99 

styptic inhalent. 90 

Injections: Soap cane (cathartic). 42 

emectic injection. 43 

nourishment by injection. 167 

in case of starvation. 197 

for gonorrhea and gleet. 235 

Injuries, unfavorable symptoms in... 170 

Ink: Black writing, to make. 618 

copying and indelible . 619 

Ink spots on floors, to remove. 405 

Ink stains on silver, to remove.386 

Ink stains, to extract from wood.400 

Insects, bites and stings of. 207 

to banish. 398 

to destroy . 400 

Insects in the ear, to destroy. 231 

Insomnia (sleeplessness) . 145 


Interest: How money grows at inter¬ 
est, interest tables, laws governing 
interest and usury, table of days 
for computing interest, legal facts 


concerning interest.575-580 

Intermittent fever, see Fever. 

Intoxication, apparent death from.... 196 

Introductions, etiquette of.536 

Iodide of iron, syrup of. 40 

Iodide of potassium. 40 

Iodine ointment. 222 

Ipecac emetic.43, 228 

Iron and tinware, to cleanse.404 

Ironing, hints on.377 

Iron holders, to make.403 

Iron mold, to remove.379 

Iron, preparations and properties of.. 54 

wine of. 37 

Iron to paint iron.527 

Italian bees .482 

Itch, treatment of.125-127 

Itch (psoric) ointment.221 

Itching feet from frost bites.256 

Ivy, poison from. 205 

Jalap, compound powder of. 30 

Japan tea.334 

Jaundice pill. 215 

Jaw, dislocation of.202 

Jelly cakes.345 

Jelly pudding. . 338 


Jellies and jams: General directions . 362 
grape, wine, and crabapple jelly..363 





























































































645 


Jellies and jams: Cranberry jelly, 
lemon, orange, peach, plum.. 

quince, apple. 

peach butter, calf’s foot jelly. 

currant jelly, apple jam. 

apricot, currant, gooseberry jam.. 365 
grape, peach and raspberry jam.. 306 
blackberry and strawberry jam... 366 


Jewelry, to clean and polish . 617 

Jockey Club (perfume). 562 

Jockeys, tricks of.439 

Johnny cake. 295 

Joiners’ work, measuring.522 

Joints, dislocation and sprains of..201-203 

Kalsomine. 520 

Kentucky cakes.298 

Kerosene lamps, management of: To 
prevent grease, to clean, to prevent 

from smoking. 387 

to prevent explosion of. 404 

Kidneys: Diuretics for.31,32, 45, 46, 56 

hot local bath for. 22 

Kidneys, diseases of: Bright’s disease 131 

diabetes.132 

gravel. 134 

Kicking in stall by horses.447 

Kiss-me-quick (perfume). 562 

Kitchen, The, requisites of. 288 

Knives and forks, care of.385, 404 

Lakes, American, area of. 602 

Ladies’ Own (perfume). 562 

Lamb chops. 308 

Lamp chimneys, to clean. 403 

Lamps, see Kerosene Lamps. 

Lampas, in horses.444 

Land, measurement of.594 

to find the amount of, in any given 

piece. 594 

Land system of the United States. .587-589 

Laundry, The: To make soap.374 

easy washing, to cleanse water.... 375 
to wash lace curtains and muslin. 375 

to wash calicoes and lawns. 376 

to prevent calicoes fading. 376 

to whiten clothes.376 

to wash woolen hose and flannel.. 376 

to wash flannel when yellow.377 

hints on ironing, starch gloss.377 

Lavender water. 561 

Laxative syrup.219 

Layer cakes, see Calces and Cookies. 

Leach, for ley, to make. 374 

Leap year, explanation of.586 

Learning to walk (children). 182 

Lease of tenement, forms for.573 

Leather, care of .528-530 

Lee’s anti-bilious pills.217 


Legs, running sores on. 124 

Lemon butter for tarts.337 

Lemon cream pie. 337 

Lemon jelly. 364 

Lemon puffs. 345 

Lemons, medicinal value of. 66 

Lemonade, to make.504 

Length of American rivers. 602 

Letter writing, general instructions for 541 
business and social forms for. .545, 546 

Letters, care in directing. 547 

Leucorrhea.150, 151 

Ley, for soap, to make.374 

Library, the family.268 

Lice and fleas, to exterminate. 399 

Lice, on fowls.399, 478 

on cattle. 457 

Ligature, in case of snake bite. 205 

for wounds.197, 198 

Light waffles. 299 

Lightning stroke, treatment in case of 197 

Lime and oil liniment for burns.225 

Lime, chloride of. 35 

superphosphate of, as fertilizer... 430 

Linen closet, arrangement of.267 

Liniments: Excellent liniment.223 

valuable liniment, soap liniment.. 223 
sweet oil and ammonia liniment.. 224 

liniment for worms .224 

chloroform and German rheu¬ 
matic liniments.224 

Harlem oil, or Welch medicine.... 224 
lime and oil, compound mustard.. 225 

Haye’s pile liniment. 225 

chilblain liniment, arnica liniment 225 
neuralgic liniments (McLane’s and 

Graham’s). 225 

Mexican mustang liniment.225 

Barrel’s Indian liniment.225 

camphor liniment,camphorated oil,225 
compound camphor and cayenne. 226 

liniment for sprains.203 

liniment for whooping-cough. 186 

chilblain liniment.254 

neuralgia liniment. 143 

Liniments for horses: Nerve and bone 443 

liniment for sweeny. 441 

cheap liniment.440 

mag;c liniment.444 

blistering liniment. 444 

simple liniment. 445 

Liquors, uses of as stimulants. 50 

Lipsalves. 563 

Lips, attention to ..563 

Liquid measure. 600 

Liver pill. 216 

Lobelia and capsicum,compound tinct, 29 


INDEX, 

363 

364 

364 

365 
365 























































































INDEX. 


646 

Lobster, boiled, lobster croquettes.... 331 


Lobster salad. 317 

Locked jaw, treatment of.144, 145 

tinctures for.28, 29 

Longevity in the occupations. 603 

Lubricators for wagons and machinery 490 

Lumbago, remedy for.226 

Lumber, board measure for.595, 596 

to find amount of, in logs. 596 

Lunching, remarks on. 41 

Lung fever, see Pneumonia. 

Lungs and throat, diseases of. 78 

Lungs, inflammation of. 84 

fomentation for . 24 

Macassar oil, for the hair. 555 

Maccaroni, baked .315 

Mackerel, to broil. 328 

Mad dog, symptoms of.475, 476 

bite of.206 

Magnesia (laxative). 35 

Magnum bonum corn cake. 293 

Mahogany furniture, to polish. 384 

Making calls, etiquette of. 537 

Malaria,miasma,precautions against 46, 62 

Malt and hop beer. 498 

Malt gruel. 164 

Malt liquors, uses of as stimulants.... 50 

Mandrake alterative. 41 

Mandrake and colocynth pills.217 

Mandrake and mercury pills. 217 

Mandrake pills, compound.216 

Manganese, as disinfectant. 231 

for the blood. 41 

Mange, in dogs. 475 

Mangoes (pickles). 372 

Manures, remarks on.429, 433 

Manuring and plowing (tables).623 

Marble cake. 345 

Marking mixture for boxes.619 

Marmalades: Peach, pineapple.366 

quince. 367 

Marriage, as related to temperament. 15 

Marshmallow tea, for sick. 165 

Masonic funerals.610 

Masons’ and plasterers’ work, meas¬ 
urement of.516 

brick, qualities of.517 

brick, to stain red.517 

cisterns capacity of (table).519 

cisterns, cement for. 519 

concrete floors and walks.518 

whitewash, kalsomine.520, 621 

tar and gravel roofing. 517 

to whiten smoked walls..521 

Mayonnaise salad dressing.316 

McLane’s neuralgic liniment.225 

Mead, sarsaparilla. 500 


Measurement, law of.593 

Measurement of work: Masons’.516 

joiners’. 522 

painters’...523 

Measures, apothecaries’. 38 

Measures of various capacity.593 

Measuring excavations. 595 

height of houses, trees, etc... .596, 597 

Measles, treatment of.75, 76 

Meat, drying and smoking. 486 

Meat, pickle for. 486 

Meats, methods of cooking: Roasting, 304 

broiling, boiling.305 

frying, stewing. .306 

cooking generally.307-311 

Meats, selection of. 276 

Medical preparations.24-39 

Medical recipes.215-239 

Medicated baths. 18 

Medicines, doses of, suited to age... .38, 39 

therapeutic action of.39-58 

Menstruation, first symptoms of.148 

importance of regular periods.... 148 

moral impressions at puberty.148 

difficult, obstructed.149, 150 

suppressed, painful, excessive, 149, 150 

baths for.19, 20 , 47 

Merchants and grocers: To pack butter 512 

to preserve eggs.513 

to distinguish sound eggs. 513 

baking powder, to make. 513 

mouth glue, to make.513 

Metheglin or bragget, to make.49S 

Metals, fusibility of. 616 

to scour, to protect from rust.616 

to write upon. 617 

Mexican mustang liniment.225 

Miasmatic diseases. 59 

Mice and rats, bait for. 397 

Milch cows, feeding of. 450 , 456 

Mildew, to remove. 379 

Miles of various nations.602 

Military funerals. 610 

Military goods, to make waterproof... 620 

Milk crust or milk scall (infants). 189 

Milk leg.152, 153 

Milk of roses (cosmetic). 559 

Milk toast. 332 

Milk, see Dairy. 

Millet, value of as fodder. 419 

Mince meat, mince pie. 337 

Mirrors and windows, to clean.384 

Miscellaneous measures. 600 

Miscellaneous medical preparations... 32 

Miscellaneous weights. 599 

Mixture of blood in races. 604 

Molasses candy, to make. 514 








































































































INDEX. 


Mold, iron, to remove. 379 

Money, how it grows at interest. 575 

Money of the United States.586, 587 

Monsel’s solution (styptic). 31 

Moonshine (sauce). 349 

Mortality, average of births and deaths 602 

average life of man. 603 

Moth, bee, to kill.400, 485 

Moth, in dwellings, to protect from... 380 

Mother and child. 177 

Mothers, nursing, rules for. 178 

Mountain cake. 345 

Mouth glue, to make.513 

Mouth, scalded, remedy for. 201 

ulcers of. 124 

Mouth wash.565 

Mucilage, to make, three kinds.. ..195, 196 

Muddy water, to purify. 501 

Muffins, rice, breakfast and com. 299 

Mulled cider. 497 

Mumps, symptoms and treatment...68, 69 

camphor for after-swelling in. 68 

Mustard for table, French table.373 

Mustard emetic. 43 

Mustard foot bath. 25 

Mustard liniment (compound). 225 

Mustard oil ointment.221 

Mustard plaster. 26 

Mutton broth, mutton tea.166, 167 

Mutton, remarks on choice of.277 

Nails, on hands, to whiten. 565 

Nails, number of to the pound. 617 

Narcotics (therapeutic).54, 55 

Nasturtiums (pickles). 371 

Navel-string,dressing of, in infants, 176,177 

Nerve and bone liniment. 443 

Nerve tea. 146 

Nervous diseases: Apoplexy.136-138 

inflammation of brain. 138 

nervous headache. 139 

sick headache.140-142 

sea-sickness. 142 

neuralgiar-drops, liniment, oint¬ 
ment. 143 

locked jaw.144, 145 

sleeplessness, hiccough. 145 

hypochondriasis, stiff neck. 146 

Nervousness, generally. 146 

electro-magnetism for. 35 

valerian and ammonia for. 147 

nervous pill.147 

Neuralgia. 143 

spirit vapor bath for. 19 

Neuralgic liniment.225 

New Year’s dinner.287 

New York disinfecting fluid.232 

Night sweats in consumption. 82 


647 


Nightmare, causes and treatment. 109 

Nipples, sore, to cure or relieve. 151 

in ewes.470 

Notes and drafts.567-570 

Nose, bleeding from. 258 

substances in...208 

Noxious animals, to destroy. 400 

Noxious weeds, to destroy.488, 489 

Number Six (Thompson’s).237 

Nurse, The, qualifications and deport¬ 
ment ..160, 161 

Nurses, training schools for.158-159 

Nursing and care of infants.178, 179 

Nursing mothers, rules for. 178 

Nursing, generally.155-175 

see also, Cookery for the Sick. 

Oak bark fomentation.229 

Oatmeal coffee. 163 

Oatmeal drink. 501 

Oatmeal gruel. 169 

Oatmeal porridge. 300 

Oats, cultivation of.415, 416 

Obstructed menstruation. 149 

baths for.19, 20, 47 

Occupation, as affecting health. 11 

Occupations, average longevity in.... 603 

Odor, to remove from skins. 622 

Offensive breath, to cure. 564 

Offensive perspiration from feet.256 

Oil cans, size of sheet for. 617 

Oil cloths, care of. 405 

Oil of brown paper for burns.201 

Oil of roses (cosmetic).553 

Oil spots, to remove from wood and 

marble.385 

Ointment, face (cosmetic). 557 

Ointments and salves: Healing oint¬ 
ment. 220 

cream ointment. 221 

psoric (itch) ointment.221 

mustard oil ointment.221 

carbolic salve. 221 

carbolic compound ointment. 221 

iodine ointment, Trask’s magnetic 222 

anodyne ointment. 222 

ointment for tropical climates.222 

family salve, Green Mountain salve 222 

German black salve.222 

ointment for chapped hands.223 

ointment for frost sores.223 

Pettit’s eye salve.223 

neuralgia ointment. 143 

pile ointment. 104 

Ointments and liniments for horses,439-446 

Ointments for sores in cattle.460, 461 

Old age, stages of. 242 

Old paint, to remove.525 









































































































648 


INDEX, 


Old people, remarks on habits of.341 

deafness in.343 

diet for. 343 

diseases peculiar to.343 

incontinence of urine in. 136 

medical treatment of.343 

sleep for. 342 

susceptibility to cold.343 

Omelets. 332 

Onions, method of cooking. 314 

to pickle. 371 

fertilizing wash for.. 489 

as disinfectant. 232 

Opodeldoc for horses. 443 

Opossum, to roast. 324 

Orange cake.346 

Orange citron. 362 

Orange jelly. 364 

Orange pudding. 340 

Orange snow. 349 

Orange wine of quinine.220 

Orchard, The, remarks on.425-427 

Oriental cold cream for the hair.553 

Osgood’s India cholagogue.238 

Ostrich feathers, to clean. 379 

Oxtail soup.330 

Oyster broth. 167 

Oyster salad. 316 

Oysters: Fried.329 

broiled, scalloped. 330 

oyster soup, oyster pie.330 

Oysters, selection of. 329 

Pacing, to teach, in horses.447 

Pain killer, instantaneous.226 

Perry Davis’. 227 

Pain remedies: Lumbago, weak back, 226 

Painful menstruation. 150 

Painters’ work: Rules for measuring, 523 

bronzing for iron or wood.528 

cheap paint for fences, etc.490 

colorless varnish.526 

fire and waterproof paint.525 

for removing old putty.525 

how to use glue. 527 

iron to paint iron. 527 

mixing paint for oil colors.523 

paint without lead or oil. 524 

simple method of cutting glass... 526 

to make putty.526 

to pencil brick work.526 

to remove old paint and putty, 525, 526 

to shape glass vessels. 527 

the time to paint. 527 

to remove the smell of paint. 524 

turpentine and lead, caution.. .237, 528 

Palatine (cosmetic). 559 

Palpitation of the heart.245 


Panada, to make. . 164 

Pancakes, see Griddle Calces. 

Paper, measuring and computing.600 

Papering whitewashed walls.522 

Parlor, The, arrangement of. 267 

Parsley, compound infusion of. 31 

Parsnips, fried. 314 

Paste, to make, three kinds.396 

Patches (toilet).563 

Pea soup. 303 

Peas, green, cooking of.314 

Peach butter.365 

Peach jam, peach pie. §66 

Peach jelly. 364 

Peach mangoes. 372 

Peach marmalade.366 

Peach preserves. 357 

Peaches, cultivation of. 427 

to can.360 

Peaches with rice. 349 

Pears, cultivation of. 428 

Pears, to can. 360 

Pennsylvania apple butter.358 

Pennyroyal infusion. 26 

Perfection cake. 348 

Perfumes, see Toilet. 

Perspiration in consumption, to re¬ 
strain. 83 

Perspiration stains, to remove. 379 

Physicing, for horses.441, 446 

Pickles: Making and keeping. 369 

spicing and coloring for. 370 

cucumbers, cabbage,cauliflower.. 370 

celery, nasturtions, onions. 371 

peppers, plums, tomatoes.. 371 

barberries, green tomatoes. 372 

chow chow, mangoes, sweet pickles 372 

Pickling beef. 486 

pork and hams . 487 

Picnic dinner. 287 

Picture frames, to keep flies from.... 384 

Pie crust, preparation of.335 

Pies and tartlets: Puff paste. 335 

boiled cider pie, cherry pie. 335 

sweet potato pie, squash pie.335 

raisin, apple, prune pie.336 

cocoanut, grape, peach pie. 336 

mince pie, mince meat.337 

lemon cream pie.337 

lemon butter for tarts.337 

banana and apple tart. 337 

Piercing the ears.565 

Pigeons, to cook.324 

Pig’s foot cheese.310 

Piles, causes and treatment of.303, 304 

Pile confection, pile ointment. 104 

Pile liniment (Haye's).225 


» 










































































































INDEX. 


649 


Pills: Anodyne, constipation. 215 

jaundice, cathartic. 215 

liver, compound cathartic, tonic.. 216 

fever and ague.216 

compound mandrake. 216 

compound mandrake and mercury 217 

Brandreth’s.217 

Wright’s Indian vegetable. 217 

Thomas’ colocynth and mandrake 217 

Lee’s anti-bilious pill.217 

gout and rheumatic pill.217 

for painful menstruation. 150 

Pin worms. 112 

Pineapple marmalade.... . 366 

Pineapple, to can. 360 

Pink coloring for cake. 342 

Pip, in fowls. 477 

Pipsissewa beer.. 499 

Plasters: Compound tar, mustard.... 26 

poor man’s, sticking. 238 

Plasterers, plastering, see Masons, etc. 

Plate and table ware, care of.385, 386 

Pleurisy, acute.96, 97 

Pleurisy, chronic.97, 98 

Plowing and manuring, tables for. 623 

Plum jelly.364 

Plum preserves. 357 

Plums, cultivation of. 428 

to can. 360 

to pickle.371 

Pneumonia, symptoms and treatment 84 

Poached eggs.332 

Podophyllin pills, compound. 29 

Poison, antidotes for..204, 205 

Poison for rats and cockroaches.397 

Poison from ivy.205 

Poisons, bicarbonate of soda for. 37 

Poll evil (horses). 439 

Pomades, see Toilet. 

Poor man’s plaster. 238 

Popcorn balls. 515 

Population, statistics of. 601 

by races. 602 

Pork and beef, to pickle. 487 

Pork cake.343 

Pork, choice of, for food.277 

methods of cooking.309, 310 

relative value of, with com. 631 

’Possum, roast.324 

Postage, domestic, rates of. 589 

foreign, rates of.590 

important information relating to, 591 

Potassa, acetate of. 32 

Potassium, iodide of. 40 

Potatoes, cultivation of. 417 

methods of cooking.296, 312, 316 

Pot pie, to make.326 

41 * 


Pots and kettles, to clean. 403 

Poultices: Mustard, slippery elm, yeast 25 

Poultices and fomentations. 24 

Poultry, rearing and care of. 476 

preparing and cooking.317-319 

to distinguish young from old.317 

lice on, to destroy . 399 

see also Fowls and Turkeys. 

Powders: Composition,diaphoretic... 39 

Dover’s.237 

Prairie itch. 127 

Pregnancy, vomiting during. 154 

Premature burial, precautions.... 172, 605 

Preserving fruits: Glass jars for.356 

cherries, black currants, grapes... 356 

peaches, plums, quinces.357 

figs, cider apple sauce.358 

Pennsylvania apple butter.358 

Prickly ash (medical). 51 

Private diseases: Prescriptions for, 234-236 

Promissory notes, forms for. 570 

Proportion of medicines to age. 38" 

Prostration, sun bath for. 22 

Proud flesh. 124 

Prune pie. 336 

Pruritis, wash for. 151 

Psoric (itch) ointment. 221 

Puddings: Rice pudding. 337 

cocoanut dessert, jelly pudding... 338 

tapioca pudding.338 

corn starch pudding . 338 

rice snow balls, apple dumplings.. 338 

baked dumplings. 339 

cocoanut pudding. 339* 

boiled Indian and cracker pudding 339 
corn pudding, cottage pudding.... 339 
English plum, orange pudding.... 340 

suet pudding, bread pudding. 340 

apple tapioca pudding.341 

Puberty, age of, remarks on.148, 191 

Public lands of United States.587-589 

of Texas. 589 

Puff paste for pies. 335 

Puffs, see Cakes and Cookies. 

Pulmonic wafers. 228 

Pulse, of horses and cattle.451 

Purgative injection. 42 

Putty, to make.526 

hard, to soften.526 

old, to remove. 525 

Queen bees, losing and supplying.482 

Quince jelly.364 

Quince marmalade.367 

Quince preserves.357 

Quinine, sulphate of. 36 

medicinal properties of. 52 

to dissolve. 37 


































































































650 


INDEX. 


Quinine mixture for children... 220 

Quinsy, symptoms and treatment.. .98, 99 

gargle for. 229 

Rabies (mad dog).206 

symptoms of, in dogs.475, 476 

Raccoon, to roast. 325 

Races, mixture of blood. 604 

statistics of.601, 602 

Racking off cider.496 

Railroad standard time.582-585 

Raisin cake. 343 

Raisin pie. 336 

Rarey’s wizard oil, for horses.444 

Raspberry fritters. 300 

Raspberry jam.366 

Rat exterminators. 397 

Rat trap, a novel. 396 

Rate of wages per week (tables). ...628-630 

Rats and mice, bait for..397 

Rats, to drive from buildings.397 

to prevent dying in their holes.... 397 

Ratio of supplies for dinners.287 

Reading in the family.270 

Receipts (business), forms for. 572 

Red ants, to destroy.399 

Red water, in cattle. 457 

Registration of letters.590, 592 

Repairing and renovating clothing.... 374 

Reproduction power of animals.627 

Retention of urine. 135 

Rhubarb and potassa, comp, syrup... 29 

Rhubarb cordial. 40 

Rhubarb, spiced syrup of. 30 

Rhubarb wine. 497 

Rheumatism, acute and chronic. ...118-120 

spirit vapor bath for. 19 

acetate of potassa for. 32 

Rheumatic liniment (German). 224 

Rheumatic pills. 217 

Rice water and gruel, for sick.163, 164 

Rice gem cakes. 298 

Rice jelly. 165 

Rice muffins. 299 

Rice pudding.337 

Rice snow balls.338 

Ringbone in horses.442 

Rings on fingers, to remove.622 

Ringworm. 128 

acetic acid for. 32 

Rivers, American, length of. 602 

Roast’coon. 325 

Roast duck (wild). 324 

Roast goose.320 

Roast pig. 308 

Roast’possum. -• 324 

Roast turkey. 321 

Roasted heart. 308 


Roasting fowls.318, 319 

Roasting game.323 

Roasting meats, directions for.304 

Roller, The, for farm uses.433 

Roofing, tar and gravel. 517 

Root beer.500 

Ropes, strength of.614 

Rose lip salve (cosmetic).563 

Rose oil, for the hair. 555 

Roses, soap water for.273 

wash for.489 

Running sores on legs. 124 

Rupture. 211 

Russian cure for drunkenness. 25? 

Rye, cultivation of. 412 

Sage tea and honey gargle. 229 

Salads: Mayonnaise dressing for. 316 

asparagus, chicken, potato, oyster 316 

lobster salad, cold slaw.317 

Saloon and bar drinks: Wines. 504 

bottle cocktail, brandy smash.... 506 

brandy punch, claret punch.505 

egg-nog, Tom and Jerry. 506 

milk punch, whisky punch.505 

Santa Cruz sour. 506 

sherry cobbler (two kinds).505 

Saloon, imitation liquors: Brandies... 507 

artificial cider.509 

barrels, appearance of age to.508 

bourbon whisky. .507, 508 

essence of cognac. 506 

Irish whisky, Scotch whisky. 508 

Jamaica rum.509 

old Tom London gin. 509 

orange and lemon juice.508 

port wine. 509 

rye whisky.507 

Santa Cruz rum. 509 

Schiedam gin. 509 

whisky, to give smoky flavor to... 508 
Saloon, flavorings and bitters: 

Boker’s. 510 

brandy bitters. 511 

coffee flavoring. 510 

flavoring for brandy.510 

hickory nut flavoring.510 

Hostetter’s stomach bitters.511 

nonpareil bitters.511 

orange peel flavoring. 510 

Orris root flavoring.510 

peach flavoring. 510 

Peruvian bitters.510 

prune flavoring.509 

raisin flavoring.510 

sassafras flavoring. 510 

St. John’s bread flavoring.510 

Stoughton bitters. 510 










































































































INDEX, 


651 


Saloon, Flavorings and Bitters: 


to make caramel (coloring).509 

vanilla flavoring.510 

Saloon, to clean and sweeten bottles 

and corks.511 

Salt, medicinal value of. 39 

Salt pork fried in batter.809 

Salt rheum (medicinal).128, 129 

Salt rising bread.291 

Salt water bath. 18 

Salts, to disguise the taste of. 37 

Salves, see Ointments and Salves. 

Sarsaparilla, Ayer’s.239 

Sarsaparilla mead. 500 

Saw logs, to find amount of timber in, 596 

Saws, to mend. 617 

Scab, in sheep.472 

Scald head. 129 

Scalds and burns.199-201 

Scalloped clams. 331 

Scalloped fish. 329 

Scalloped oysters.330 

Scalloped veal.309 

Scalp, lotion for. 550 

Scarlet fever (scarlatina), symptoms 

and treatment.73-75 

capsicum for. 51 

Scouring, in cattle.456 

Scrambled eggs.332 

Scrap books, paste for.396 

Scratches, in horses.441 

Scratches (of the skin). 210 

Scrofula, pathology and treatment,114,115 

Scrotum, dropsy of. 110 

Sea sickness, remedies for... .142, 237, 238 

Seeding and planting, amount of seed 
and hills to the acre (tables).. .425, 624 

Seidlitz powders. 219 

Seminal weakness, nervous pill for... 234 

Seven year itch (prairie itch). 127 

Shampoos, see Toilet. 

Sheep: General remarks on. 465 

fattening of. 466 

bloating in. 470 

catarrh and influenza in.470, 471 

diarrhea or purging in.469, 473 

discharge from nose of. 471 

foot rot in.471, 472 

inflammation of kidneys. 470 

inflammation of lungs. 469 

to protect from gad-fly. 471 

loss of appetite in. 473 

maggots on wounds in.473 


ointment for cracked hoof 

scab in. 

castration of rams. 

lambing season. 


Sheep: 

care of lambs. 468 

coagulation of milk in ewes.468 

sore nipples in ewes.470 

Sheep skins, to tan for mats.532 

Sheet bath. 21 

Shingles for buildings.597 

durability of.598 

Shingles (pathological).128 

Shoe blacking, Day and Martin’s.529 

Shoes, to keep soft.529 

Shortcake: Strawberry.294 

raspberry, blackberry, pineapple, 295 
orange, peach, sweet potato, etc., 295 

Shortness of breath, remedy for. 84 

Shower bath. 22 

Sick, care of.155-174 

drinks and gruels for.162-166 

meat teas and broths for.166-168 

convalescents, gruels for.168-169 

nourishment of by injection. 167 

Sick rooms, caution in visiting... .212, 237 

disinfectants for. 173 

furnishing of, attention to.155-157 

sun exposure for. 156 

to cool the air of. 157 

ventilation of. 156 

Sick headache.140-142 

periodical, remedy for . 142 

Signs of disease in children.180, 181 

Silver coins of the United States.586 

Silverware, etc., to clean.385, 386, 405 

polish and lustre on. 386 

ink stains on, to remove.386 

Simple cerate. 34 

Simple emetic.228 

Si tz bath. 20 

Skin, artificial, for burns. 200 

Skin, diseases of.114-131 

functions of. 41 

influence of on health.46, 47 

treatment of, in consumption. 80 

cosmetics and lotions for.557, 558 

Skins, to tan.530-533 

to tan with the fur on.531 

Skunk odor, to remove.622 

Sleeping apartments and beds.265 

Sleeping apartments, choice of. ..15, 47, 62 

oil lamps in.387 

sunshine in.267 

temperature of.266 

windows to be kept clear.267 

Sleeping together, reasons against.... 15 
Sleeping with the head to the north... 15 

Sleeplessness, remedies for. 145 

Slippery elm poultice. 25 

Slippery elm tea. 165 



































































































652 


INDEX. 


Small pox, symptoms and treatment, 70 


unfavorable symptoms in. 171 

to prevent pitting in.71, 72 

to remove old pock-marks. 72 

disinfectants. 72 

Smell of paint, to remove. 524 

Smoked walls, to whiten.521 

Smoking meat. 486 

Snake bites, in persons.205, 206 

whisky or alcohol for. 205 

Snake bites, in horses. 444 

Sneezing, to check... 258 

Snow cream (sauce). .347 

Snuffles, in children. 188 

Soap liniment. 223 

Soap, to make. 374 

Soda biscuit. 293 

Soda, flavoring syrups for.502, 503 

Soda, bicarbonate of.— 37 

Soft corns. 253 

Soothing injection (cathartic). 42 

Solid measure. 600 

Sore eyes: In persons, generally.247 

in children. 188 

in dogs. 475 

Sore breasts in horses. 440 

Sore mouth (canker). 236 

Sore nipples in women. 151 

Sore nipples in ewes . 470 

Sore throat, gargle for.229 

Sores and bruises in cattle. 460 

Sound, velocity of. 613 

Soup, oyster. 330 

Soups: General directions for making 301 

vegetable soup. 301 

tomato, celery and cream soup... 302 

chicken and bean soup. 302 

clam soup, pea soup.303 

oxtail soup, gumbo soup.303 

flavoring extracts for.373 

Soups for sick, see Cookery for Sick. 

Sour stomach, headache from . 141 

Southern chicken croquettes. 320 

Southern corn bread. 295 

Southern sweet potato pie. 335 

Sozodont, for the teeth. 565 

Spasm in bladder.... .136 

Spasmodic croup, see Croup. 

Spasms, remedies for, in infants. 239 

Spare-rib, pork, to cook.309 

Spavin, in horses.442 

Spectacles, when needed.246 

Spermatorrhea, remedies for.234 

Spiced fruit. 362 

Spiced syrup of rhubarb. 30 

Spiced vinegar for pickles.370 

Spiders, bites of. 207 


Spirit vapor bath. ... 19 

Spirits of camphor.,. 33 

Splint, in horses.440, 443 

Splinters, to extract from fingers.210 

Spots on carpets, to remove.382, 383 

on floors, to remove.. 404 

Sponge or towel bath. 20 

Sprains, treatment of .203, 204 

Spray bath. 22 

Spring beer. 498 

Squash, baked. 315 

Squash for pies, to can.361 

Squash pie. 335 

Squinting, in children. 190 

Squirrel, broiled...324 

Staggers, in horses. 440 

Stains, fruit and ink, to remove. 379 

perspiration, to remove.379 

on silver, to remove. 385 

on the skin, to remove. 558 

Stammering or stuttering.256 

Standard railroad time.582-585 

Starch gloss. 377 

Starvation, restoration from. 197 

Steel trap springs, to temper. 622 

Stewed corn, stewed tomatoes.313 

Stewing meats, directions for.306 

Sticking plaster.238 

Stiff neck. 146 

Stillingia compound. 44 

Stillingia, compound fluid extract.... 39 
Stimulants: Alcohol and malt liquors, 50 

compound life drops. 50 

camphor, capsicum, prickly ash.. 51 

Stimulating fomentation. 229 

Stomach, acidity of (heartburn).108 

bleeding from. 107 

bleeding from, astringents for_ 48 

cramp and wind in. 107 

sour, headache from. 141 

worms in. 112 

Stone and brick work, to measure.... 516 

Stone, cement for. 395 

Stone in the bladder. 135 

Stove pipe, to clean out. 401 

Stoves, varnish for. 401 

Strains and swellings in horses.440 

Straw hats, varnish for. 401 

Straw matting, to clean.383 

Strawberries, cultivation of.429 

Strawberry shortcake. 294 

Strawberry ice cream.515 

Strength of ice and ropes.614 

Strengthening cough cordial. 81 

Striking in, unfavorable symptoms in 

disease. 170 

Stuffed veal. 309 










































































































INDEX. 


653 


Stunning, restoration from.210 

Stuttering . 256 

Stye in the eye. 248 

Styptic inhalent. 90 

Styptics: Therapeutic action. 58 

Monsel’s solution. 31 

Pancoast’s styptic. 32 

styptic collodion . 32 

styptic paper. 32 

Succotash, to make.313 

Suet pudding with fruit.340 

Suffocation, artificial respiration for.. 194 

cold affusions for. 21 

from noxious vapors. 195 

Sulphate of quinine. 36 

Sulphur bath. 18 

Summer complaint (cholera infantum) 182 

Sun bath. 22 

Sun-burn, lotion for. 560 

to remove and prevent.558 

Sun pain, see Dumb Ague. 

Sunshine cake.343 

Sunstroke. 196 

Supper, preparing and serving.282 

wedding.284 

Suppressed menstruation.149 

Suppression of urine. 135 

Surface measure.600 

Surveys, land, how made.587-589 

Suspended animation.192-197 

Swansdown, to clean.380 

Sweating, means to produce.47, 48 

Swelled feet and ankles. 255 

Swelling of breasts in children. 188 

Sweeny, liniment for. 441 

Sweet pickles. 372 

Sweet potatoes, to cook.313 

Sweet potato shortcake.295 

Sweet spirits of nitre. 45 

Swine, general remarks on.461 

plague, or hog cholera.463 

Syphillis, secondary, blood purifier for 236 

Syphillitic sore throat, gargle for.235 

Syrup, for consumptives. 83 

Syrups, flavoring, to make.502, 503 

Tables for computing interest, 576, 577,579 

Taming horses .448 

Tan and sunburn.558 

Tanning skins.530-533 


Tape-worm, treatment for, in persons, 113 


in dogs . 

Tapioca cream. 

Tapioca gruel. 

Tapioca pudding. 

Tar inhalation for consumption 

Tarantula, bite of. 

Tartaric acid. 


474 

348 

164 

338 

83 

207 

33 


Taxes, how assessed and levied. ...580, 581 


Tea biscuit, to make. 294 

Tea party, directions for. 283 

Tea, to make. 334 

Teeth, The: Remarks on.249 

preservation of, tarter on. 249 

cleansing of, toothache drops__ 250 

wash, paste, powder, for teeth.... 251 

foul odor from decayed teeth.251 

to pull teeth without pain.251 

teeth wash . 565 

Teething, in children.181, 182 

Temperaments, remarks on.13-15 

Temperature of baths. 17 

Testicle, swelled, remedy for.236 

Texas, public lands of. 589 

Thanksgiving dinner. 285 

The bier (funeral). 606 

The blues (hypochondriasis). 146 

The lips (toilet). 563 

Therapeutic action of medicines.39-58 

Thistles, to destroy.488 

Thompson’s “Number Six”.237 

Threadworms. 112 

Threshing, waste in. 434 

Throat, diseases of. 78 

substances in. 207 

Thrush, in children. 187 

Time, division of.581, 582 

method of computing. 586 

railroad standard. . .582-585 

Time required to cook different articles 289 

Timber in tree, to measure.596, 597 

to preserve. 618 

Tinctures: Antispasmodic . 27 

Virginia snake root, capsicum.. .27, 28 

Tinware, to keep bright.403 

Toast, to make.332, 333 

Toast water, for sick. 164 

Tobacco, cultivation and curing of, 421-423 

sedative properties of. 56 

Tobacco dip for foot rot in sheep. 472 

To float in water. 210 

To mend broken saws.617 

Toilet, cosmetics: General remarks... 556 

to soften the skin, face ointment.. 557 

lotions for the skin. 558 

tan and sun burn.558 

to remove stains from skin.558 

complexion paste, palatine. 559 

calcined magnesia, milk of roses.. 559 

complexion soap.560 

to remove wrinkles. 560 

gelatine for the skin.560 

lotions for complexion. 560 

lotion for chaps and sun burns.... 560 

to remove freckles.562 






































































































654 


INDEX, 


Toilet, hair dressings: Bandoline. 

rose bandoline, hair curling fluid, 
Toilet, hair dyes: Blonde or flaxen ... 

yellow, brown, walnut. 

to darken the hair.549, 

manufactured dyes. 

Toilet, hair invigorators: Friction.... 

hair tonic, hair pomade. 

lotion for baldness. 

to restore gray hair. 

French remedies for baldness. 

hair stimulant, hair wash. 

lotion for the hair and scalp. 

Toilet, hair oils: Rose oil. 

macassar oil, barbers’ star oil. 

to color hair oils. 

Toilet, perfumes: Remarks on. 

lavender scent-bag, lavender water 

eau de Cologne, f rangipanni. 

jockey club, ladies’ own. 

kiss-me-quick, upper ten. 

Toilet, pomades: To make pomades.. 

scenting essences for.. 

compound pomade. 

rose and vanilla. 

crystalline pomatum. 

imitation bear oil. 

oriental cold cream. 

almond paste, oil of roses. 

camphor ice, Cologne water. 

extra fine Cologne. 

bay rum, Florida water. 

Toilet, shampoos: Shampoo mixtures, 
cheap shampoo, fine shampoo.... 

Toilet, the lips: Remarks on. 

lip salves. 

balsam for chapped lips. 

face or lip honey. 

Toilet, various recipes: 

offensive breath. 

balm of thousand flowers. 

sozodont, mouth and teeth wash.. 

piercing the ears. 

to whiten the nails. 

eyelashes, to keep long. 

fragrant odor for rooms.. 

to clean hair brushes and combs.. 

Tomato cakes. 

Tomato catsup. 

Tomato soup... 

Tomato wine. 

Tomatoes, to pickle .371, 

methods of cooking. 

raw, to prepare. 

to can.... 

Tongue, boiled. 

Tonic pills. 


Tonic mixture for whooping-cough.... 18ff 


Tonics: Iron. 54 

vegetable—dogwood,cherry,poplar 54 

collinsonia, hydrastis. 53 

quinine. 52 

Tonsils, enlarged, treatment of.99, 100 

Toothache drops.250 

Tooth paste, wash, powder. 251 

Townships, how surveyed.587-589 

Trap springs, to temper. 622 

Trask’s magnetic ointment. 222 

Trees, barking of, by cattle. 488 • 

Trees, height of, to measure.596, 597 

planting, number per acre (table). 625 

Trout, brook, to cook. 328 

Tropical climates, ointment for...222 

Troy weight.37, 599 

Tub bath. 17 

Turkey, boned, turkey roast.321 

Turkeys, to roast, dressing for.319 > 

Turkey patties. 322 

Turkeys, rearing and care of. 480 ■ 

see also Fowls and Poultry. 
Turpentine, caution to painters. ...237, 528 
Typhoid fever, see Fever. 

Ulcerated sore throat, gargle for.229 

Ulcers, Beach’s remedy for. 123 

to cleanse foul ulcers. 123 

obdurate ulcers, bed sores. 124 

Ulcers of the mouth, of legs . 124 

Undertaker, duties of.608 

Unfavorable symptoms in disease 170, 171 

United States land system.587-589 

Upper Ten (perfume). 562 

Urinary organs, diseases of.131-136 

Urine,suppression, retention..46, 135, 136 

baths for. 22 

Usury, State laws relating to.578 

Uterus, dropsy of. 110 

Vaccination. .72, 73 

Valerian, for nervousness. 147 

Varioloid, treatment of. 72 

Varnish, colorless, to make.526 

for engravings, frames, etc.401 

for straw hats.401 

for stoves. 401 

Varnished paint, to clean.400 

Veal cutlets, veal rolls.310 

Veal scallops, veal stuffed. 309 

Veal tea, for sick. 167 

Vegetable diuretics. 45 

Vegetable oysters, to cook. 315 

Vegetable soup, to make...301 

Vegetable soups for sick. 167 

Vegetables and salads. .311-317 

Vegetables, proportion of seed of per 
per acre (table). 425.. 


556 

556 

550 

551 

551 

551 

549 

549 

549 

549 

550 

550 

550 

555 

555 

555 

560 

561 

561 

562 

562 

552 

552 

553 

553 

553 

553 

553 

553 

554 

554 

554 

555 

555 

563 

563 

563 

564 

564 

564 

565 

565 

565 

565 

565 

566 

296 

373 

302 

497 

372 

313 

313 

361 

310 

216 



































































































INDEX. 


Vegetables, remarks on selection, 


cooking and serving of.3H 

Vegetables, to can: Corn....360 

squash, tomatoes . 361 

Velocity: Of bodies, of sound, of wind 613 

Venison, haunch of, to cook. 326 

Veratrum viride, therapeutic action of 56 

Vermifuge oil for worms. 112 

Vermin: Novel rat trap.396 

bait for rats and mice.39? 

rat poisons and antitodes.397 

cockroaches and bed-bugs.397, 398 

flies and insects. 398 

to drive flies from horses.398 

ants, fleas and lice. 399 

to destroy body vermin.399 

lice on poultry. 399 

to kill bee moth. 400 

bugs, insects, noxious animals.... 400 

Vertigo, in fowls.477 

Vinegar, recipes for making.367-369 

to detect adulteration in.369 

to keep a supply of. 368 

to strengthen weak vinegar.369 

Virginia corn bread .292 

Virginia snake root, compound tinct.. 27 

Vomiting, compound syrup for. 29 

during pregnancy. 154 

generally, to relieve. 154 

oil of capsicum for.238 

Waffles, to make.299 

Wages per week, rate of (tables).. .628-630 

Wagon axles, lubricator for.490 

Wahoo beer.499 

Warm drinks at meals.333 

Warm infusions. 48 

Warts, to remove.130 

Wash for pruritis.,.151 

for the eyes. 248 

Washes and lotions: Chapped hands.. 227 

bed sores, chafing.227 

Washing, see Laundry. 

Water, accidents of. 214 

how to float in.210 

to cool and cleanse.501 

to test the purity of.621 

Watermelon rind, to dry.361 

Water-proof blacking for harness.529 

Water-proof oil-rubber paint.525 

Waterproofing: For general use.620 

for military goods, for cloth.620 

for boats.630 

Wax for canning fruits. 361 

for polishing floors.401 

Wax varnish for furniture..385 

Weak back, remedy for.226 

Weaning of babies. 179 


655 


Weather, rules for judging of. 615 

Wedding cake. 344 

Wedding supper, preparation of.284 

Weeds, to destroy.488, 489 

Weight of cattle, to find. 491 

Weight of various articles. 625 

Weights and measures: Troy weight.. 599 

avoirdupois.. 599 

miscellaneous weights.599 

long measure. 599 

surface measure, solid measure... 600 
miscellaneous measures, paper... 600 
liquid measure, grain measure.... 600 

apothecaries.37, 38 

for housekeepers.289, 290 

Wells, capacity of (table). 519 

Welsh medicine (Harlem oil).224 

Wens, to cure.*..130, 131 

Wheat, cultivation of. 409 

amount of seed per acre.412, 624 

harvesting and storing. 41 

Wheat bread, common, to make.290 

Wheat flour griddle cakes. 296 

Whip cream. 347 

White candy, to make. 514 

White dogs, to wash. 475 

White sponge cake. 345 

White spruce beer. 498 

Whites (leucorrhea). 150 

Whitefish, baked. 328 

Whitewash, fire-proof. 521 

for fences and outbuildings.521 

for outdoor use, for walls.520 

to prevent rubbing off. 521 

used by treasury department.520 

Whitewashed walls, to paper. 522 

Whitlow (felon). 120 

Whooping-cough.185, 186 

compound emetic for. 28 

Wind colic in children. 188 

Wind in the stomach. 107 

Wind, velocity and force of. 614 

Window curtains, to make.402 

Window glass, to polish. 405 

Window jars, druggists’, to color.621 

Windpipe, substances in.208 

Wine gruel, to make. 169 

Wine jelly, to make.165, 363 

Wine of iron.*. 37 

W 7 ine whey, for sick. 165 

W T ines, domestic: Blackberry, apple.. 496 
blackberry brandy, cherry brandy 496 
grape champagne, mulled cider... 497 

currant, rhubarb, tomato.497 

cherry wine, cherry bounce, 496,497,501 

Wines, handling and serving. 504 

uses of as stimulants. 50 











































































































INDEX. 


656 


Wood, hard coating for.... 618 

relative hardness of (table). 618 

relative value of as fuel (table).... 627 

cordwood, to measure (table). 598 

Wood work, to clean. 400 

Woodchuck skins, to tan. 531 

Woodcock, to cook. 326 

Woolen hose, to wash. 376 

Woolens, care of, from moth. 380 

Worm liniment...224 

Worms, generally, in persons. Ill 

stomach, thread or pin worms, 112,113 
tapeworm. 113 


Worms, in children. 187 

Worms and tape worm in dogs.474 

Wounds, bleeding from, to stop. 197 

collodion for. 201 

flesh and gunshot.197-199 

in cattle and horses. 459 

in fowls . 478 

Wright’s Indian vegetable pills.217 

Wrinkles on face, to remove . 560 

Writing upon metals. 617 

Yeast poultice. 25 

Yeast, three kinds, to make.393, 394 

Zinc, to clean. 405 









































✓ 





4 







